Virginia legislation · 2026 Regular Session
Virginia SB176: An Act to amend and reenact § 24.2-673.1 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal the fourth enactment of Chapter 1054 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report.
Status: Chaptered, April 22, 2026
Elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. Expands the option to use ranked choice voting from only elections for county board of supervisors and city councils to any local governing body. The bill requires the State Board of Elections to provide standards and to approve vote tabulating software for use with existing voting systems in elections conducted by ranked choice voting. The bill provides for copying damaged or defective ballots that cannot be properly counted by electronic voting systems. The bill allows localities to request risk-limiting audits of elections conducted using ranked choice voting and provides that no such election may be included in any random drawing required to satisfy the general requirements for risk-limiting audits. The bill specifies that the State Board is required to produce generalized voter education materials on ranked choice voting and is also permitted to create and modify recount procedures to the extent necessary to accommodate a recount of an election. The bill directs the Department of Elections to review the testing and approval framework for voting equipment in the Commonwealth and submit a report of such review no later than the first day of the 2027 Regular Session of the General Assembly. Finally, the bill repeals the 2031 expiration of the option to use ranked choice voting in elections, making such option permanent. This bill is identical to HB 630.
What the bill says
An Act to amend and reenact § 24.2-673.1 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal the fourth enactment of Chapter 1054 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. [S 176] Approved April 22, 2026 1. That § 24.2-673.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: § 24.2-673.1. (Expires July 1, 2031) Ranked choice voting. A. For purposes of this section: "Ranked choice voting" means a method of casting and tabulating votes in which (i) voters rank candidates in order of preference, (ii) tabulation.
From the enrolled text, April 22, 2026:
An Act to amend and reenact § 24.2-673.1 of the Code of Virginia and to repeal the fourth enactment of Chapter 1054 of the Acts of Assembly of 2020, relating to elections; conduct of election; ranked choice voting; locally elected offices; report. [S 176] Approved April 22, 2026 1. That § 24.2-673.1 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows: § 24.2-673.1. (Expires July 1, 2031) Ranked choice voting. A. For purposes of this section: "Ranked choice voting" means a method of casting and tabulating votes in which (i) voters rank candidates in order of preference, (ii) tabulation proceeds in rounds such that in each of round either a candidate or candidates are elected or the last-place candidate is defeated, (iii) votes for voters' next-ranked candidates are transferred from elected or defeated candidates, and (iv) tabulation ends when the number of candidates elected equals the number of offices to be filled. "Ranked choice voting" is known as "instant runoff voting" when electing a single office and "single transferable vote" when electing multiple offices. "Ranking" means the ordinal number assigned on a ballot by a voter to a candidate to express the voter's preference for that candidate. [DELETED: Ranking] [DELETED: number] [DELETED: one] The first ranking is the highest ranking, the second ranking [DELETED: number] [DELETED: two] is …