RI S2951

Local jurisdictions in Rhode Island may adopt ranked choice voting for local primary, general, or special elections through a voter-approved charter amendment, with the option to hold nonpartisan general elections without separate primaries

Single-winner elections allow voters to rank up to 5 candidates; multi-winner elections allow ranking 4 more candidates than the number of seats being filled

Tabulation proceeds in rounds, eliminating the candidate with fewest votes each round and redistributing those votes to voters' next-ranked choices until a winner is determined

State Board of Elections must promulgate rules including voter education programs, election official training, certification of counting tools, and release of round-by-round results and ballot-level data in machine-readable format

Effective date: January 1, 2027