Arlington selects Democratic nominee for County Board in four rounds of ranked-choice voting

As Albemarle and Charlottesville consider the use of ranked-choice voting to select local candidates in the 2025 primary and general elections, interested parties could take a look at see how another Virginia locality is using the method.

After four rounds, Julius “J.D.” Spain was elected late last week to be the Democratic nominee to the open seat on the Arlington County Board. There were five candidates in all and on primary day, Spain got 32 percent of the 20,338 votes cast in what is considered the first round. 

Under ranked-choice voting, voters in Arlington can select their first, second, and third choice for a candidate. With only one seat open, the nominee had to receive at least 50 percent of the vote. 

“If no candidates receive the required number of votes to win, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and ballots for that candidate are transferred to the voter’s next choice,” reads the primer for ranked choice voting on the Arlington website. 

At the beginning of the second round, candidate Julie E. Farnam’s 1,267 first-choice votes were redistributed to the four remaining candidates. 

“If your 1st choice candidate is eliminated, your vote is transferred to your 2nd choice candidate,” the primer continues. 

That meant Spain picked up an additional 227 votes in the second round, but that only brought the candidate’s percentage up to 33 percent. 

In the third round, fourth place candidate James A. DeVita was eliminated and Spain picked up another 443 votes. 

“If your 2nd choice candidate is eliminated, your vote is then transferred to your 3rd choice candidate,” the primer continues. 

In the fourth round, third place candidate Tenley D. Peterson was eliminated and Spain picked up another 3,348 votes to get to 52 percent. Throughout the process, runner-up Natalie D. Roy went from 28 percent of the votes cast to 43 percent.

Arlington elects a new member of the County Board each year, with two selected in every fourth year. In that sort of an election, the threshold to be nominated is 33 percent.

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