This article was written by a member of Metro DC DSA and should not be interpreted as an endorsement of the chapter for Ballot Initiative 83. Members of Metro DC DSA voted on endorsing Initiative 83 in February earlier this year. Although a majority voted to endorse the measure (51.7%), this did not satisfy the 2/3rds threshold necessary to endorse the initiative.

AMERICA'S DEMOCRACY IS SICK. Our elections are deeply flawed, and they have been since America’s infancy. While our democracy has gradually improved over the centuries, with the passage of constitutional reforms and federal legislation to slowly enfranchise more and more of the American people into the voting process, America still struggles with a fundamentally unjust electoral system. The fact that I, living in Washington, DC, with my 700,000 fellow citizen siblings have no federal representation is indeed a great shame for our democracy. And the shame of American democracy is nothing new. As a nation, we grapple with the humiliation of a voting system that allows our presidents to be elected by an unpopular vote. We are forced to endure minority rule of the Senate. We have the unelected, unaccountable high priests of our government judiciary. Even the House of Representatives, supposedly the great democratic body of our government built to be "of the people," is gerrymandered to the point of self-parody. Every single aspect of our elections, our government and our democracy has been corrupted. America is in dire need of reforms. 

In this context, with such obvious injustice, it would be easy to lose faith in the American electoral process. Apathy is seductive and electoral discouragement is a tool used by the people who wield power to demoralize our citizenship and voter base. Those in power, the leadership in the Democratic and Republican parties and, more importantly, their capitalist owners, fear change. A change that will more effectively represent the will of the people. A change that will enfranchise politically independent voters. A change that will upset the political status quo. In DC, we have been given a rare opportunity to execute such a change and take the power back.

Initiative 83 is that opportunity for change. Simply put, Initiative 83 is a two-pronged ballot measure enacting election reforms in DC. First, I-83 will replace DC’s first-past-the-post elections with ranked-choice voting (RCV). Second, I-83 will create a semi-open primary, allowing voters registered as independents (and only independents, no party crossovers) to vote in the party primary of their choosing. These two pillars, I believe, will improve the quality of our democracy and more fully enfranchise independent voters in our electoral process.

Ranked-choice voting is not new. Australia, one of the many countries that uses RCV, has done so for over a century. More recently, Alaska, Maine and Hawaii have all adopted RCV. Even our brother municipality, Arlington, has adopted RCV. It’s time for DC to evolve, to change, to adopt a more advanced type of democracy. With the passing of Initiative 83, DC will be on the vanguard of voting reform in America.

Candidate consensus, I believe, is the primary benefit of Initiative 83’s ranked-choice voting. Vote splitting would be rendered impossible by RCV. In our most recent Democratic primary election, Ward 7 had 10 candidates running to replace Councilmember Gray. The winner of this election had less than 23.7% of the ward’s vote and will cruise through a general election victory with no opposition. More than 75% of Democrats in Ward 7 voted for someone else. This is not the will of the people, and with Initiative 83, this would never happen.

For those who oppose ranked-choice voting, and I have heard many arguments against, I can sum them up into three major groups:

• The Left. Some on the Left are committed to anti-electoralism, and they are somehow convinced that the status quo in our elections will benefit them. They are patiently waiting for accelerationism or propaganda of the deed as a catalyst for revolution. Or maybe the Left can occasionally exploit vote splitting in our first-past-the-post elections and see isolated political victories. They say that RCV birthed Eric Adams, New York’s right-wing democratic mayor, so it is not to be trusted. These are anti-reformist, conservative sentiments. The best chance for change are electoral reforms. RCV gives voters greater choice, opening up the possibility for more progressive candidates. It’s still democracy; RCV is not “only progressives win” voting. But better candidates will foster better outcomes.
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• Institutional DC Democrats. The DC Democratic Party has been incredibly open and transparent with their strong opposition to Initiative 83. According to Washington City Paper, they say, “ranked choice voting would be too complicated for elderly Black voters.” This is a false reason for opposition, designed to convince democratic constituents with feigned empathy for an infantilized group. Even if presented in good faith, this argument is insulting, and would imply a deep disdain DC Dems have for their own voters. The fact that five minutes of learning something new would be so complicated is absolutely ridiculous. Though, the fear of change from the Democrats on the DC Council makes sense, as they have the most to lose from ranked-choice voting. RCV has the chance to challenge their entrenched power, and instead of embracing this as an opportunity to listen and more closely enact the will of their voters, they have chosen to fight I-83 at every step of the process. The DC Democratic Party leadership has revealed themselves not to be a progressive force of change, but a conservative force, fearful of a powershift away from their monied, capitalist interests.
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• Congressional Republicans. Barely worth mentioning, but Congressional Republicans, too, seek to block RCV from taking root in the District. These are demons who are hellbent on the worst policies possible. Policies that are beneficial to no one other than the capitalist class who they nakedly serve.

Initiative 83 will also bring semi-open primaries, which will be an important mechanism to improve voter enfranchisement. I am not registered to any political party. I am an independent voter, as are one in six voters in DC. The Democrats in DC largely sweep the general election and by that measure the real contest, the real choice is in the primary elections. I am disenfranchised and so are many others from our democratic process.

What fears are motivating this opposition to semi-open primaries? I’ve identified three: 

• "Just register as a Democrat." True, but I don’t want to be affiliated with a political party. For whatever reason, not everyone does. Given the complete dominance of the DC Democratic Party, there is almost no way to have a political impact without being registered as a Democrat. Why does not being a political partisan deny participation in our democracy?
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• "The primary is for the party only." Sure, but the Democrats and Republicans are the only two major parties in America. They are so baked into our democracy that mounting third party opposition is almost impossible without becoming an electoral spoiler. And I’ll point to our neighbor, Virginia, which already has completely open primaries. Any voter can choose to vote in whatever primary they see fit, and Virginia seems to have no problems with party democracy.
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• "Republican voters will vote in the Democratic primary to sabotage." This will not be permitted by I-83, as only politically unaffiliated voters will be allowed to choose. I find this the weakest and most perplexing argument against semi-open primaries. What's to stop a “Republican” from registering as a Democrat to vote in the primary election currently? Nothing. Undoubtedly, many DC Democrats are closeted Republicans and make up the right flank of the Democratic party. Right-wing infiltration already shifts the political trajectory of the party, and drives some on the Left to reject participation with the DC Democrats.

In closing, our democracy has major problems. The voice of the people is not being heard. Millions of citizens in America have material needs that are not being met. Our politicians don’t represent us. They have no fear. They are willing to openly defy the popular will of their voters. Initiative 83 will not solve our problems. I-83 simply gives us tools. With these election-reforming tools, ranked-choice voting and semi-open primaries, we will have a new framework for change. With this change, we will have a greater opportunity to hold our elected leaders accountable. With this change, we will show them who they work for. With this change, we will force them to listen. With Initiative 83, we will take the power back.