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Ranked Choice Voting Day 2026

Thank you for celebrating RCV Day with RepresentWomen! 

We appreciate everyone for celebrating Ranked Choice Voting Day with us on January 22nd! 

The importance of ranked choice voting is multifaceted, and here at RepresentWomen, we strongly support this reform. As our Executive Director, Cynthia Richie Terrell, stated on Ranked Choice Voting Day:

"Building a thriving democracy in the United States requires strategies that address the root causes of the imbalance of power. That imbalance of power cannot be addressed successfully through trying to “win” the next election cycle for “our” side. Adopting better voting systems, campaign finance rules, and election processes are necessary ingredients to give us all real power to elect the candidates who represent us and the ability to hold them accountable.”

For those who missed our webinar, we strongly encourage you to listen in to the recording to hear from our wonderful guest panelists from across the RCV movement. 

Our Speakers

Anna Kellar, Rank the Vote 

Elise Orlick, FairVote Washington

Tamara Allen, UpVote Virginia 

Perry Radford, NM Voters First 

Tamaya Dennard, RepresentWomen

 

What Is Ranked Choice Voting Day?

Ranked Choice Voting Day is an annual moment held every year on January 23rd (1, 2, 3) to celebrate a proven, people-powered reform that strengthens democracy by giving voters more choice and candidates a fairer path to office.

Ranked choice voting (RCV) allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, ensuring winners earn majority support while reducing vote-splitting and negative campaigning.

At RepresentWomen, we celebrate RCV Day because how we vote shapes who runs, who wins, and who leads — and RCV is one of the most effective systems reforms for advancing women’s political representation.

Why RepresentWomen Supports Ranked Choice Voting

Our research shows that women — especially women of color — face structural barriers in winner-take-all elections that discourage them from running and limit their chances of winning.

Ranked choice voting helps change that by:

  • Reducing the spoiler effect, so multiple women can run without being told to “wait their turn”

  • Encouraging coalition-building, not zero-sum competition

  • Lowering campaign costs by eliminating costly runoff elections

  • Shifting campaign tone, reducing negative attacks that disproportionately harm women candidates

  • Expanding voter choice, which benefits communities historically excluded from political power

RCV is not a silver bullet, but it is a powerful part of the systems-level change needed to reach gender-balanced governance.

Visit our Ranked Choice Voting website page to learn more! 

 

Other RCV Resources:

Ranked Choice Voting Dashboard

Report: In Ranked Choice Elections, Women WIN

Memo: Ranked Choice Voting and Women's Representation

Report: Why Women Won in 2021