On December 16, the Washington, D.C. city council defeated a bill to postpone using ranked choice voting for a year. Voters voted for RCV in 2024, but some council members thought the Board of Elections isn’t ready to handle it. The bill was defeated 5-8, so the city will proceed to get ready for RCV. Its first use will be in partisan primaries in June 2026. It will also be used in November 2026.

RCV will probably make it easier for minor party candidates for citywide partisan office to poll 7,500 votes. New parties become ballot-qualified in D.C. if they have a nominee for any citywide city office, or Delegate to the U.S. House, who polls 7,500 votes.

Missouri is trying to persuade a U.S. District Court to sanction the attorneys for the group that is opposed to redistricting. The state claims the attorneys for the anti-redistricting group conceded at oral argument that the law is not suspended just because the signatures were submitted. The state claims that afterwards, the attorneys told the media the opposite.

On December 16, the attorneys for the anti-redistricting petition submitted this brief in their own defense. Missouri General Assembly v Glahn, e.d., 4:25cv-1535.

See this news story.

Connecticut holds a special election on January 13, 2026, to fill the vacant 139th State House seat. The Independent Party is ballot-qualified for that office. However, its nominee was removed from the ballot because he submitted a photocopy of his signature on a form, instead of the original. See this story.