VA-LG: Virginia primary elections feature contested race for Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate

This week marks the beginning of voting for primary elections — statewide and local — that conclude June 17. On the ballot are statewide primaries for Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. Local primaries will also take place for Charlottesville City Council and School Board, as well as Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and School Board positions.

For the first time, ranked choice voting will be used for Charlottesville Council primaries. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than selecting just one candidate — if their first choice does not have enough votes to be within the top two candidates, voters’ second choice on the ballot can count as a vote. Sally Hudson, executive director of Ranked Choice Virginia, led the effort to bring the practice to the city, with the Council voting 4-1 to implement it on a trial basis last September.

Hudson said that Charlottesville can look to Arlington, the first locality in Virginia to adopt ranked choice voting, for an example.

“I’m confident our City election administrators will implement the new system successfully,” Hudson said. “[Election officials] have done test runs to prepare and have lots of resources to lean on from Arlington’s use in the past three years.”



https://www.cavalierdaily.com/article/2025/05/virginia-primary-elections-feature-contested-race-for-democratic-lt-gov-candidate