In the November 2024 election, an overwhelming majority of voters in Washington, D.C. voted to pass Initiative 83 (I-83), which introduced ranked choice voting and semi-open primaries for elections in the District of Columbia.
Campaign Legal Center, on behalf of our clients who proposed and supported I-83, has successfully defended the will of the voters in court against baseless claims that I-83 is unlawful. Ranked choice voting (also known as RCV) will be used for the first time in the District's history in primary and special elections this month.
What is Initiative 83?
Spearheaded by Campaign Legal Center’s clients in this case — Lisa D. T. Rice, a D.C. independent voter, and Grow Democracy D.C. — I-83 introduced ranked choice voting in all Washington, D.C. elections. This measure also would allow independent voters not registered with any political party to vote in D.C. primary elections — something they were not previously allowed to do.
Proponents of I-83 sought to enact these pro-voter reforms into law through a citizen-led ballot initiative. Nearly three-quarters of D.C. residents voted for I-83 in the November 2024 election.
Even though D.C. residents overwhelmingly voted to pass this ballot initiative, its legitimacy was challenged in court.
In August 2023, the D.C. Democratic Party and the Chair of the Party filed a lawsuit alleging that I-83 is unlawful. Campaign Legal Center later intervened in the case on behalf of our clients, arguing that I-83 met every requirement for a citizen-led ballot initiative, and its pro-democracy reforms are legal under both D.C. and federal law.
While the case was ongoing, the D.C. Council voted to fully fund the ranked choice voting provisions of I-83, ensuring that ranked choice voting would be used in D.C. elections beginning with the June 2026 primary and special elections.
In June 2026, the court ruled that I-83 does not violate District or federal law and the Board of Elections correctly placed it on the ballot, rejecting all the plaintiffs’ challenges to the initiative as baseless.
This is a victory for District residents.
With ranked choice voting now fully implemented in the District, voters have a more meaningful way to express their candidate preferences and make their voices heard, putting the power to advance democracy directly in the hands of the people of Washington, D.C.
Implementation of the semi-open primary provisions remains contingent upon funding by the D.C. Council.
Campaign Legal Center is proud to have defended this important initiative, and we’ll continue our work in protecting voters everywhere. Join us today in our efforts to strengthen our democracy.