A student advocate urged Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday, Sept. 29, to study ranked-choice voting for the 2027 elections, reviving a push that began at a Reston town hall in May.
John Tashkhanov, Virginia policy director for the student-run advocacy group Beyond Partisan, asked the Board of Supervisors to request a public feasibility study on switching the county's election format, FFXnow first reported.
"It is a very realistic goal," Tashkhanov, a student at BASIS Independent McLean, told supervisors during the public comment session.
All 10 supervisor seats will be on the ballot in November 2027. Under a 2020 state law, Virginia localities can adopt ranked-choice voting for governing-body elections by passing an ordinance at least 90 days before an election. No public referendum is required.
Only Arlington and Charlottesville have made the switch so far. Sally Hudson, founder and executive director of Ranked Choice Virginia, told FFXnow the county's election equipment can already handle ranked-choice ballots. She said Fairfax County has not yet invited its director of elections to present a formal readiness assessment at a public meeting, a step Arlington, Charlottesville, Albemarle, Loudoun and the cities of Fairfax and Richmond have all taken.
Board Chair Jeff McKay thanked Tashkhanov but gave no signal that follow-up was planned.
May town hall in Reston
The Tuesday, Sept. 29, appeal followed a May 11 town hall Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn convened at the North County Governmental Center in Reston. About 50 residents attended, and at least half were backers of UpVote Virginia, so most speakers favored exploring a change. There were also dissenting voices, FFXnow reported.
Alcorn said at the May forum that the event was primarily to build awareness. He did not suggest he would seek a format change in time for November 2027.
"I really don't know much about it," Alcorn said in May. "I would be happy to learn more, and I think Hunter Mill District residents would want to learn more."
Eric Spicer, Fairfax County's director of elections, attended the May 11 town hall and said he could envision logistical problems with a format switch but that the decision rests with the Board of Supervisors.
Tight timeline
Even with legal authority in place, the calendar is working against a 2027 switch. Candidates can begin circulating petitions to qualify for the ballot in January 2027, and primaries are scheduled for June 2027.
Nine of the 10 incumbent supervisors are Democrats. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity is the lone Republican.
In 2026, the General Assembly passed and Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed House Bill 630 (HB630), expanding the ranked-choice option to town councils. That law took effect July 1, giving leaders in Herndon, Vienna and Clifton the option for future elections.
Arlington has used ranked-choice voting for three years. In a survey after the November 2025 election, 66% of Arlington respondents supported the format and 26% opposed it.
No supervisor has publicly committed to requesting a formal feasibility assessment. Hudson said her organization has had discussions with individual supervisors, but the county has yet to schedule the topic on a board agenda.
