Ranked-choice voting will not be used in Albemarle’s elections this November
At the tail end of the April 19 work session, Supervisors asked if they had any other items to bring up. Supervisor Chair Donna Price had two items.
“First one, ranked-choice voting,” Price said. “Where do we stand in terms of any expenses associated with ranked-choice voting if the Board were to proceed with that this fiscal year?”
Last November, Supervisors were told the county would not be ready for that change in time for the June 20, 2023 primary as I reported at the time.
County Executive Jeffrey Richardson said there is still a possibility of having the reform in place this year. At least, it’s fiscally possible.
“From a budgetary stand-point, the staff has been working and we would approximate that if the Board of Supervisors were to ask for ranked-choice voting, the earliest you could do it would be in November and that is in fiscal year 2024,” Richardson said. “It’s going to be approximately $65,000.”
A final decision did not have to be made at the April 19 meeting. Price said she would not support ranked choice voting for the second of two elections this calendar year.
“Not having ranked choice voting in the primary and then going to ranked-choice voting in the general election, I don’t believe would give us sufficient time to educate the population,” Price said.
Price is not seeking a second term this year in the Scottsville District, but Supervisor Bea LaPisto-Kirtley will be on the ballot in the Rivanna District. She also does not support making the switch this year.
“I just think it takes a lot of time to prepare people for this so that they have a good level of understanding,” LaPisto-Kirtley said.
Supervisors reached consensus it would be better to begin use of ranked-choice voting at the primary level but that was not ready in time for this year’s election.
Price ran out of time and did not ask her second question.
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