VA SB176

Authorizes any local governing body (county boards of supervisors, city councils, town councils) to conduct elections using ranked choice voting, where voters rank candidates by preference and votes transfer through elimination rounds until winners are determined

Requires the State Board of Elections to assess technical feasibility within 10 days when a locality decides to implement ranked choice voting and to provide approved vote tabulating software standards

Mandates the State Board promulgate regulations for ranked choice voting administration, including procedures for tabulating and reporting votes in rounds, determining winners, and ballot standards

Allows counties to require towns to reimburse costs associated with conducting ranked choice voting elections that the town council has chosen to implement

Directs the Department of Elections to review testing and approval frameworks for voting equipment, including emerging technology like risk-limiting audit tools and tabulation software, with a report due by the first day of the 2027 General Assembly session