What to Expect on Primary Night
We'll have live results from Charlottesville when polls close.
Charlottesville's first ranked choice election is finally here. You can find live results on our website after polls close at 7 pm.
Need a refresher on counting the votes?
There are two open seats on City Council this year, so this primary will have two winners. In a ranked choice race with two winners, each winner needs to learn more than 1/3 of the votes – because only two people can get more than 1/3, no matter how many candidates run.
The ballots are counted in rounds:
- The first-choice votes are counted in Round 1. If two candidates get more than 1/3 of the votes, the race will be over.
- If only one candidate wins in Round 1, their extra votes (above 1/3) will go to voters’ second-choice candidates in Round 2.
Transferring votes ensures that no one’s vote is wasted. If your favorite candidate gets more votes than they need to win, your vote can help choose the second winner in Round 2.
When will we know the results?
We’ll have preliminary Round 1 results tonight – just like any other election. If two rounds are needed, the Round 2 results will be released on Sunday, after the deadline for receiving mailed ballots.
Delaying round-by-round results until all ballots are received is a regulation from the Virginia State Board of Elections and not a technical limitation of ranked choice voting. Other ranked choice cities release preliminary round-by-round results on election night, as the national RCV Resource Center advises. Charlottesville's election officials are abiding by Virginia's regulations, and those rules lag behind national best practices (for now).
A strong democracy is worth waiting for. In just a few hours, Charlottesville voters – and Virginians watching from afar – will get to see the benefits of ranked choice first hand.
