Thirty-four D.C. Democrats are calling on the Democratic National Committee to drop a proposed ban on ranked choice voting in presidential primaries, warning it would override the will of more than 212,000 District voters who approved the system in 2024.

The DNC is scheduled to vote on the ban Saturday, Aug. 15.

The open letter, dated Tuesday, Aug. 11, argues the ban directly conflicts with D.C. law. Voters approved Initiative 83 in November 2024 with 73 percent support, requiring ranked choice voting in any D.C. race with three or more candidates. The District used the system for the first time in its June 2026 primary elections after the D.C. Council funded implementation in the FY2026 budget, according to WJLA.

If the ban passes, it would not undo ranked choice voting for local D.C. races. But it would strip the system from the District's 2028 presidential primary, the most consequential election for D.C. residents seeking representation.

The DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee approved the ban in May. It would do two things: prohibit ranked choice voting outright in all presidential primaries and caucuses, and in jurisdictions where RCV is already law, count only first-choice votes for delegate allocation, according to the Independent Voter Network. That second provision would effectively render D.C.'s voter-approved law meaningless in presidential contests.

Six state Democratic parties have already used ranked choice voting in presidential cycles without issue: Alaska, Hawaii, Kansas, Maine, Nevada and Wyoming.

The proposed ban has drawn criticism beyond D.C. DNC Executive Committee member Christine Pelosi wrote on X on Aug. 7 that DNC Chair Ken Martin replaced a scheduled public Rules and Bylaws Committee meeting with a closed-door dinner ahead of the Saturday vote.

@ChristinePelosi: "As a member of the DNC Executive Committee, I cannot over-stress my disappointment in turning an open debate into a closed door session."

The D.C. Democratic Party has a complicated history with ranked choice voting. The local party sued to block Initiative 83, according to IVN, before voters approved it overwhelmingly in 2024. The D.C. Council also declined in June 2025 to fund the semi-open primaries provision of the same initiative, keeping D.C.'s closed primary system intact for the District's roughly 85,300 registered independent voters.

The vote is Saturday.

If the ban passes, both major national parties will have formally opposed ranked choice voting in presidential primaries. The Republican National Committee has already adopted its own ban.