URGENT: Let the DC Council know you oppose their Emergency Bill to change the At-Large election structure
If you live in the District of Columbia (DC) and care about Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)...
Urgent: Email DC Council to Oppose Emergency Bill
Today (July 9, 2026), the DC Council started circulating an Emergency Bill to "fix" a perceived "glitch" in the text of Initiative 83, which specified how the Two-Winner At-Large Councilmember race would be tabulated in the November General Election.
In short, they are attempting to unilaterally change the rules of the election we voted on without any discussion from voters.
The reform they are proposing - Sequential RCV - is not a better system than the one Initiative 83 selected - Bottoms Up RCV - and this hasty measure will cause more harm than it's trying to prevent. DC's Councilmembers are not subject matter experts on RCV and they should not be making this change without expert feedback.
Council will be voting on this emergency bill on Tuesday 7/14 before their August recess, after which it will be too late to stop it.
How you can help:
BEFORE TUESDAY 7/14 - Write an email to all DC Councilmembers to oppose this bill
We need to flood their inboxes to let them know this kind of change requires community feedback, and is not appropriate action via emergency legislation in the middle of an election cycle.
Here's an example of what you can say in your email. Note: all of the addresses below should end with "at dccouncil dot gov" in place of the ellipses:
To: pmendelson..., abonds..., chenderson..., rwhite..., dcrawford..., bnadeau..., bpinto..., mfrumin..., jlewisgeorge..., zparker..., callen..., wfelder..., twhite...
Subject: Please Oppose the Ranked Choice Voting Implementation Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026Dear DC Councilmembers,
I am (your name), and I've been a resident of (your ward) for (how long you've lived here)
(Add any other brief introductions, including local organizations or groups you're apart of, to indicate you're a caring member of the DC community. Consider adding any background you have with RCV to indicate your knowledge about the reforms.)
I'm writing to ask you to please oppose the emergency bill that will be considered next Tuesday titled "Ranked Choice Voting Implementation Clarification Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2026."
(Reasons you can include for opposing the measure, use your own wording whenever possible:)
- This is not an emergency. Council should not pass this change over the heads of voters. If council would like to discuss this issue, there should be public hearings to allow voters to weigh in on the electoral system they voted for.
- This is election interference. We are already in the middle of an election cycle where nominees for the At-Large race are already decided, and the rules should not be changed last minute.
- The Bottoms Up RCV method selected by the Initiative 83 team for this Two-Winner At Large election was selected intentionally, it's not a glitch or mistake. Our team believes this form of RCV makes the most sense for DC given the nature of the two different At-Large seats (Dem vs Non-Dem).
- There are those who prefer Bottoms Up RCV or STV/Proportional RCV for various reasons which can be discussed, but Sequential RCV is the worst solution to this problem.
- There are other solutions that can be considered before Sequential RCV, including a Charter amendment to split the At-Large race into two separate single-winner races, which would be a better reform that could not be achieved by Initiative.
Bottom Line - this emergency legislation is a BAD IDEA and it's clear the Council doesn't understand the change they're trying to make to this system.
Please do not push this legislation through without allowing voter feedback.
Sincerely,
(Your name)
Council needs to know they cannot make these decisions behind the backs of voters. They had the option to reach out to us as a resource on RCV to inform their actions. Our team would've been happy to engage in good faith with Councilmembers on this topic - and we still are!
But we won't be able to have those discussions if this emergency legislation goes through on Tuesday.
Thank you for standing with us.
— The Grow Democracy DC Team
#DC #WashingtonDC #RankedChoiceVoting #RCV #ActionAlert #deadline