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S3425119th Congress

Ranked Choice Voting Act

Sponsored By: Senator Welch, Peter [D-VT]

Introduced

Summary

This bill would require nationwide ranked choice voting for all U.S. House and Senate elections and provide federal funding to help states adopt the new voting and tabulation rules.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

4 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 4 mixed.

Nationwide ranked-choice voting for federal races

This bill would require States to use ranked-choice voting for U.S. House and Senate elections. It would apply to primaries, special elections, and general elections, including the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. The rule would take effect for federal elections on or after January 1, 2030. State and local election officials would need to adopt the new tabulation and procedural rules for those federal contests.

No separate federal runoff elections

This bill would bar States from holding separate runoff elections for U.S. Senate and House after the State's established primary, general, or special-election dates. The prohibition would apply to primary, general, and special federal contests. The rule would take effect for federal elections on or after January 1, 2030.

Rules for ranked-choice ballots and terms

This bill would require ranked ballots to let voters rank candidates in order and give the same maximum number of rankings to all voters in a State. Ballots would have to allow at least five rankings (or fewer if there are fewer candidates), list all qualified candidates, include write-in options where allowed, and show instructions on how to rank. The bill would also define key terms like "active candidate", "ranking", and "withdrawn candidate". These rules would take effect for federal elections on or after January 1, 2030.

No change to state and local elections

This bill would say that nothing in it changes how States run state or local elections. It would preserve State authority over nonfederal election administration and would not itself change local voting rules.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Welch, Peter [D-VT]

VT • D

Cosponsors

  • Sen. Kim, Andy [D-NJ]

    NJ • D

    Sponsored 12/10/2025

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

View on Congress.gov
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