Election Integrity Working Group | Fairfax GOP

In a March 21 general meeting, the Fairfax GOP membership passed a resolution opposing ranked-choice voting. The full text of the resolution follows:

WHEREAS, On January 27, 2023 the Republican National Committee adopted the following resolution to officially oppose ranked-choice voting across the country:

“WHEREAS, The mission of the Republican Party is to act as the party of liberty, the party of equality, the party of opportunity for all, the party of favoritism for none and to encourage and allow the broadest possible participation of all voters in Republican Party activities at all levels and to ensure that the Republican Party is open and accessible to all Americans;

“WHEREAS, America has operated on a well-understood and relatively uniform election system that has been implemented over two hundred years to support our constitutional republic;

“WHEREAS, The political parties in America have created the world’s largest representative forums for debate amongst thousands of factions of American citizens all across the nation;

“WHEREAS, Traditional American primary and general elections ensure that voters who support one candidate, not a plurality of candidates, are heard clearly while ranked choice voting schemes open elections to ‘ballot exhaustion’ or the disenfranchisement of voters who choose not to support multiple candidates who do not clearly represent their values;

“WHEREAS, The grassroots activists of the Republican Party have made it abundantly clear that they do not trust new election procedures, outcomes, and further complications of modern systems that sow additional distrust in elections and we need to keep voting simple and secure;

“WHEREAS, Educating voters on the confusing processes that vary by state has cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars for educational efforts that have provided ineffective results;

“WHEREAS, States and communities where ranked choice voting has been tested have consistently decreased voter participation in those communities and in many cases the elections have resulted in more discarded votes than counted votes;

“WHEREAS, Ranked choice voting often results in additional tabulation delays resulting in days or weeks of additional counting while depending exclusively on technology without traceable ballots to support determined winners; and

“WHEREAS, Supporters of ranked choice voting seek to eliminate or disempower party primaries; therefore, be it

“RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee rejects ranked choice voting and similar schemes that increase election distrust, and voter suppression and disenfranchisement, eliminate the historic political party system, and put elections in the hands of expensive election schemes that cost taxpayers and depend exclusively on confusing technology and unelected bureaucrats to manage it; and

“RESOLVED, That the Republican National Committee calls on Congress, state legislatures, and voters to oppose ranked choice voting in every locality and level of government and return elections to easier systems that have worked for centuries for fair and transparent elections.”

WHEREAS, the Fairfax County Republican Committee wishes to recognize and support the RNC resolution against Ranked Choice Voting in Fairfax County;

WHEREAS, in the 2020 legislative session the Virginia General Assembly approved Chapter 1054, An Act to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 24.2-673.1, relating to ranked choice voting; elections for local governing bodies; local option pilot program;

WHEREAS, said legislation has resulted in the requirement for the Virginia Department of Elections to adopt additional policies and procedures to administer ranked choice voting across Virginia whose implementation has resulted in additional and unnecessary costs to Virginia taxpayers while further complicating elections; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Fairfax County Republican Committee calls on all county, city, and state elected officials, electoral board members, state central committee members, the Republican Party of Virginia, and all Virginia voters to oppose ranked choice voting in every locality and level of government, for all types of elections, and return elections to easier systems that have worked for centuries for fair and transparent elections.

The Election Integrity Working Group is a volunteer-run project of the Fairfax GOP.