I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 9578 
To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections for the offices 
of Senator and Representative in Congress, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 12, 2024 
Mr. RASKIN (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. KIL-
MER, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. MOULTON, and Mr. PETERS) introduced 
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on House Admin-
istration 
A BILL 
To establish the use of ranked choice voting in elections 
for the offices of Senator and Representative in Con-
gress, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; FINDING OF CONSTITUTIONAL 
AUTHORITY. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Ranked Choice Voting Act’’. 
(b) FINDING
OF CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY.— 
Congress finds that it has the authority to establish the 
terms and conditions States must follow in administering 
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elections for the offices of Senators and Representatives 
in Congress because the authority granted to Congress 
under section 4 of article I of the Constitution of the 
United States gives Congress the power to enact laws gov-
erning the time, place, and manner of elections for such 
offices. 
SEC. 2. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC-
TION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title III of the Help America 
Vote Act of 2001 (52 U.S.C. 21081 et seq.) is amended 
by adding at the end the following new subtitle: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 
‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING 
FOR ELECTION OF SENATORS AND REP-
RESENTATIVES 
‘‘SEC. 321. REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELEC-
TION OF SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES. 
‘‘(a) RANKED CHOICE VOTING.—Each State shall 
carry out elections for the office of Senator and the office 
of Representative in Congress, including primary, special, 
and general elections for such office, using ranked choice 
voting, a system under which each voter may rank the can-
didates for the office in the order of the voter’s preference, 
and ballots are tabulated, in accordance with this title. 
‘‘(b) BALLOT DESIGN.— 
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‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State shall ensure 
that the ballot used in a ranked choice voting elec-
tion under this subtitle meets each of the following 
requirements: 
‘‘(A) The ballot shall allow voters to rank 
candidates in order of choice. 
‘‘(B) The number of candidates whom a 
voter may rank in the election, as determined 
under paragraph (2), shall be uniform for all 
voters in the election within the State. 
‘‘(C) The ballot shall include all qualified 
candidates for the election and (to the extent 
permitted under State law) options for voters to 
select write-in candidates. 
‘‘(D) The ballot shall include such instruc-
tions as necessary to accurately inform the 
voter how to properly rank candidates and suc-
cessfully cast the ballot under the system. 
‘‘(2) DETERMINATION
OF
NUMBER
OF
CAN-
DIDATES VOTER MAY RANK.—The ballot shall permit 
voters to rank at least five candidates or the number 
of candidates in the election, including write-in can-
didates (to the extent permitted under State law), 
whichever is fewer. 
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‘‘SEC. 322. PROHIBITING ADDITIONAL RUNOFF ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) PRIMARY ELECTIONS.—No State may hold a 
separate runoff primary election for the office of Senator 
or the office of Representative in Congress after the date 
established under State law for the primary election for 
such office. 
‘‘(b) GENERAL ELECTIONS.—No State may hold a 
separate runoff general election for the office of Senator 
or the office of Representative in Congress after the date 
established under section 25 of the Revised Statutes of 
the United States (2 U.S.C. 7) for the regularly scheduled 
general election for such office. 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL ELECTIONS.—No State may hold a 
separate runoff special election for the office of Senator 
or the office of Representative in Congress after the date 
established under State law for such special election for 
such office. 
‘‘SEC. 323. TREATMENT OF PRIMARY ELECTIONS. 
‘‘(a) CONDITIONS
FOR
HOLDING
NONPARTISAN 
BLANKET PRIMARY ELECTIONS.—A State may hold a 
nonpartisan blanket primary election for the office of Sen-
ator or the office of Representative in Congress only if 
State law provides that at least 3 candidates advance to 
the subsequent general election. 
‘‘(b) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this title 
shall be construed to require a State to hold a primary 
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election for the office of Senator or the office of Represent-
ative in Congress prior to the date established under sec-
tion 25 of the Revised Statutes of the United States (2 
U.S.C. 7) for the regularly scheduled general election for 
such office, so long as the determination of the candidates 
who are elected to such office is based solely on the votes 
cast with respect to the election held on such date, as de-
termined in accordance with the system of ranked choice 
voting under this title. 
‘‘SEC. 324. APPLICATION TO DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND 
TERRITORIES. 
‘‘(a) ELECTION OF DELEGATES AND RESIDENT COM-
MISSIONER.—In this subtitle, the term ‘Representative’ in-
cludes a Delegate or Resident Commissioner to the Con-
gress. 
‘‘(b) APPLICATION
TO NORTHERN MARIANA IS-
LANDS.—This subtitle shall apply with respect to the 
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in the 
same manner as this subtitle applies to a State. 
‘‘PART 2—TABULATION PROCESS 
‘‘SEC. 331. TABULATION PROCESS. 
‘‘Except as provided in section 332, tabulation shall 
proceed in the following manner: 
‘‘(1) PROCESS FOR TABULATION.—Each ballot 
cast in the election shall count as one vote for the 
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highest-ranked active candidate on the ballot. Tab-
ulation shall proceed in rounds as described in para-
graphs (2) and (3). 
‘‘(2) ELIMINATION
OF
CANDIDATES
DURING 
TABULATION.—If there are more than 2 active can-
didates in a round of tabulation, the active candidate 
with the fewest votes is eliminated, each vote cast on 
a ballot for the eliminated candidate shall be count-
ed for the next-ranked active candidate on the ballot, 
and a new round shall begin. 
‘‘(3) COMPLETION OF TABULATION; ELECTION 
OF CANDIDATE.—When there are two or fewer active 
candidates— 
‘‘(A) tabulation is complete; and 
‘‘(B) the candidate receiving the greatest 
number of votes shall be elected to the office of 
Senator or Representative in Congress (or, in 
the case of a primary election, shall advance to 
the general election for such office as provided 
under the law of the State involved). 
‘‘(4) TREATMENT OF CERTAIN BALLOTS.— 
‘‘(A) TREATMENT OF UNDERVOTES.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A ballot which is 
an undervote shall not be counted in any 
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round of tabulation of ballots in an election 
under this section. 
‘‘(ii) 
UNDERVOTE
DEFINED.—For 
purposes 
of 
this 
subparagraph, 
an 
‘undervote’ is a ballot for which the voter 
does not rank any of the candidates in the 
election. 
‘‘(B) TREATMENT
OF
INACTIVE
BAL-
LOTS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A ballot which be-
comes an inactive ballot shall no longer 
count for any candidate for the remainder 
of the tabulation of ballots in an election 
under this section after the ballot becomes 
inactive. 
‘‘(ii) INACTIVE
BALLOT
DEFINED.— 
For purposes of this paragraph, an ‘inac-
tive ballot’ is a ballot on which— 
‘‘(I) all of the ranked candidates 
on the ballot have become inactive; or 
‘‘(II) the voter ranks more than 
one candidate at the same ranking 
and all candidates at a higher ranking 
have become inactive. 
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‘‘(C) TREATMENT
OF
SKIPPED
OR
RE-
PEATED RANKINGS.— 
‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—A ballot which in-
cludes any skipped or repeated ranking 
shall remain active and continue to be 
counted for the highest ranked active can-
didate in an election under this section. 
‘‘(ii) 
SKIPPED
AND
REPEATED 
RANKINGS DEFINED.—For purposes of this 
paragraph— 
‘‘(I) a ‘skipped ranking’ is a 
ranking a voter does not assign to any 
candidate while assigning a subse-
quent ranking to a candidate; and 
‘‘(II) a ‘repeated ranking’ is a 
ranking for which the voter has as-
signed the same candidate that the 
voter assigned to another ranking. 
‘‘SEC. 332. SPECIAL RULES FOR NONPARTISAN BLANKET 
PRIMARY ELECTIONS. 
‘‘In the case of a nonpartisan blanket primary elec-
tion, tabulation shall proceed in the following manner: 
‘‘(1) PROCESS FOR TABULATION.—In the case 
of a nonpartisan primary election— 
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‘‘(A) each ballot cast in the election shall 
count as one vote for the highest ranked active 
candidate on that ballot; and 
‘‘(B) tabulation shall proceed in rounds as 
described in paragraphs (2) and (3). 
‘‘(2) ELIMINATION
OF
CANDIDATES
DURING 
TABULATION.—If the number of active candidates is 
greater than the number of candidates to be ad-
vanced to the general election, as provided under the 
law of the State involved, the active candidate with 
the fewest votes is eliminated, and votes for the 
eliminated candidate are counted for each ballot’s 
next-ranked active candidate. 
‘‘(3) COMPLETION OF TABULATION; ADVANCING 
OF CANDIDATES.—When the total number of active 
candidates is equal to or less than the number of 
candidates to be advanced to the general election, as 
provided under the law of the State involved— 
‘‘(A) tabulation is complete; and 
‘‘(B) all active candidates shall advance to 
the general election for such office. 
‘‘SEC. 333. TREATMENT OF TIES BETWEEN CANDIDATES. 
‘‘(a) RESOLUTION BY LOT.—If a tie occurs between 
candidates with the greatest number of votes or the fewest 
number of votes at any point in the tabulation of ballots 
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under this part and the tabulation cannot proceed until 
the tie is resolved, the tie shall be resolved by lot or by 
such other method as may be provided under State law, 
provided that any tie between candidates with the fewest 
number of votes shall be resolved on the same day as tab-
ulation. 
‘‘(b) RESOLUTION PRIOR TO TABULATION.—Prior to 
tabulation, the chief election official of the State may re-
solve prospective ties between candidates by lot or accord-
ing to the method provided under State law, as described 
in subsection (a). 
‘‘(c) USE DURING RECOUNT.—The result of the reso-
lution of any tie shall be recorded and reused for purposes 
of any recount under State law. 
‘‘SEC. 334. DETERMINATION OF VOTES CAST FOR CAN-
DIDATES OF POLITICAL PARTIES FOR PUR-
POSES OF ACCESS TO BALLOT IN FEDERAL 
ELECTIONS. 
‘‘To the extent that a State takes into account the 
number of votes cast in an election for candidates of a 
political party in determining the right of candidates of 
the party to appear on the ballot in subsequent elections 
for Federal office in the State, the State shall determine 
the number of votes cast for a candidate on the basis of 
whichever round of tabulation of ballots in the election 
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under section 331 or section 332 contained the highest 
number of votes for that candidate. 
‘‘PART 3—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT 
RANKED CHOICE VOTING 
‘‘SEC. 341. PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED 
CHOICE VOTING. 
‘‘(a) PAYMENTS DESCRIBED.— 
‘‘(1) PAYMENTS.—Not later than June 1, 2025, 
the Commission shall make a payment to each State 
in the amount determined with respect to the State 
under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(2) AMOUNT DETERMINED ON BASIS OF NUM-
BER OF REGISTERED VOTERS.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The amount deter-
mined under this paragraph is the product of— 
‘‘(i) the number of individuals reg-
istered to vote in elections for Federal of-
fice in the State, based on the most re-
cently available information on voter reg-
istration in the State, as provided to the 
Commission by the State; and 
‘‘(ii) the per capita amount estab-
lished by the Commission under subpara-
graph (B). 
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‘‘(B) PER CAPITA AMOUNT.—For purposes 
of this paragraph, the Commission shall estab-
lish a separate, appropriate per capita payment 
amount for each State that may be not less 
than $4 and not more than $8, taking into ac-
count any reasonable demonstrated or esti-
mated costs associated with the use of ranked 
choice voting, including costs related to— 
‘‘(i) voting equipment updates; 
‘‘(ii) election software updates or li-
censes; 
‘‘(iii) voting system programming; 
‘‘(iv) ballot design and printing; 
‘‘(v) election official and poll worker 
training; 
‘‘(vi) 
processing, 
canvassing, 
cen-
tralization, and tabulation; 
‘‘(vii) reporting and displaying pre-
liminary and final election results; 
‘‘(viii) post-election audits and re-
counts; and 
‘‘(ix) voter information, education, 
and engagement. 
‘‘(b) USE OF FUNDS.—A State shall use the payment 
made under subsection (a) to implement ranked choice 
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voting under this subtitle, including educating voters 
about ranked choice voting. 
‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary for payments under this section. 
‘‘PART 4—CIVIL ENFORCEMENT 
‘‘SEC. 351. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT. 
‘‘(a) CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.— 
‘‘(1) ACTIONS BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The 
Attorney General may bring a civil action for such 
relief as may be appropriate to carry out this sub-
title. 
‘‘(2) AVAILABILITY OF PRIVATE RIGHT OF AC-
TION.— 
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any person residing 
or domiciled in a State who is aggrieved by the 
failure of the State to meet the requirements of 
this subtitle may bring a civil action in the 
United States district court for the applicable 
venue for such relief as may be appropriate to 
remedy the failure. 
‘‘(B) NO AWARDING OF DAMAGES TO PRE-
VAILING PARTY.—Except for an award of attor-
ney’s fees under subsection (d), a court in a 
civil action under this subtitle shall not award 
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the prevailing party any monetary damages, 
compensatory, punitive, or otherwise. 
‘‘(3) DELIVERY OF COMPLAINT TO HOUSE AND 
SENATE.—In any action brought under this subtitle, 
a copy of the complaint shall be delivered promptly 
to the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the 
Secretary of the Senate. 
‘‘(4) EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION AND APPLICA-
BLE
VENUE.—The district courts of the United 
States shall have exclusive jurisdiction to hear and 
determine claims arising under this subtitle. The ap-
plicable venue for such an action shall be the United 
States District Court for the District of Columbia or 
the judicial district in which the capital of the State 
is located, as selected by the person bringing the ac-
tion. In a civil action that includes a claim under 
this subtitle, with respect to an election for the office 
of Senator or the office of Representative in Con-
gress held in a State, the United States District 
Court for the District of Columbia shall have juris-
diction over any defendant who has been served in 
any United States judicial district in which the de-
fendant resides, is found, or has an agent, or in the 
United States judicial district in which the capital of 
the State is located. Process may be served in any 
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United States judicial district where a defendant re-
sides, is found, or has an agent, or in the United 
States judicial district in which the capital of the 
State is located. 
‘‘(5) USE
OF
3-JUDGE
COURT.—Any action 
arising under this subtitle shall be heard by a 3- 
judge district court convened pursuant to section 
2284 of title 28, United States Code. 
‘‘(6) REVIEW OF FINAL DECISION.—A final de-
cision in an action brought under this section shall 
be reviewable on appeal by the United States Court 
of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, 
which shall hear the matter sitting en banc. There 
shall be no right of appeal in such proceedings to 
any other court of appeals. Such appeal shall be 
taken by the filing of a notice of appeal within 10 
days of the entry of the final decision. A final deci-
sion by the Court of Appeals may be reviewed by the 
Supreme Court of the United States by writ of cer-
tiorari. 
‘‘(b) EXPEDITED CONSIDERATION.—In any action 
brought under this section, it shall be the duty of the dis-
trict court, the United States Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of 
the United States (if it chooses to hear the action) to ad-
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vance on the docket and to expedite to the greatest pos-
sible extent the disposition of the action and appeal. 
‘‘(c) SPECIAL RULE IN CASE FINAL ADJUDICATION 
NOT EXPECTED WITHIN 3 MONTHS OF ELECTION.— 
‘‘(1) DUTY OF COURT.—If final adjudication of 
an action under this subtitle is not reasonably ex-
pected to be completed at least 3 months prior to 
the next regularly scheduled primary election for the 
office of Senator or the office of Representative in 
Congress in the State, the district court shall order 
adjustments to the timing of the primary election 
and other related deadlines, as needed, to allow suf-
ficient opportunity for adjudication of the matter in 
time for the next regularly scheduled general election 
for such office in the State. 
‘‘(2) PROHIBITING
FAILURE
TO
ACT
ON 
GROUNDS OF PENDENCY OF ELECTION.—The court 
may not refuse to take any action described in para-
graph (1) on the grounds of the pendency of the 
next election held in the State or the potential for 
disruption, confusion, or additional burdens with re-
spect to the administration of the election in the 
State. 
‘‘(d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In a civil action under this 
section, the court may allow the prevailing party (other 
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than the United States) reasonable attorney fees, includ-
ing litigation expenses, and costs. 
‘‘(e) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.— 
‘‘(1) RIGHTS AND REMEDIES ADDITIONAL TO 
OTHER
RIGHTS
AND
REMEDIES.—The rights and 
remedies established by this section are in addition 
to all other rights and remedies provided by law, and 
neither the rights and remedies established by this 
section nor any other provision of this title shall su-
persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Vot-
ing Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.). 
‘‘(2) VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965.—Nothing in 
this title authorizes or requires conduct that is pro-
hibited by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 
10301 et seq.). 
‘‘(f) LEGISLATIVE PRIVILEGE.—No person, legisla-
ture, or State may claim legislative privilege under either 
State or Federal law in a civil action brought under this 
section or in any other legal challenge, under either State 
or Federal law, to laws and procedures enacted under this 
subtitle. 
‘‘(g) REMOVAL.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—At any time, a civil action 
brought in a State court which asserts a claim for 
which the district courts of the United States have 
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exclusive jurisdiction under this subtitle may be re-
moved by any party in the case, including an inter-
venor, by filing, in the district court for an applica-
ble venue under this section, a notice of removal 
signed pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of 
Civil Procedure containing a short and plain state-
ment of the grounds for removal. Consent of parties 
shall not be required for removal. 
‘‘(2) CLAIMS NOT WITHIN THE ORIGINAL OR 
SUPPLEMENTAL JURISDICTION.—If a civil action re-
moved in accordance with paragraph (1) contains 
claims not within the original or supplemental juris-
diction of the district court, the district court shall 
sever all such claims and remand them to the State 
court from which the action was removed. 
‘‘PART 5—DEFINITIONS 
‘‘SEC. 361. DEFINITIONS. 
‘‘In this subtitle, the following definitions apply: 
‘‘(1) ACTIVE
CANDIDATE.—The term ‘active 
candidate’ means, with respect to any round of tab-
ulation under this subtitle, a candidate who has not 
been eliminated, and who is not a withdrawn can-
didate. 
‘‘(2) HIGHEST-RANKED ACTIVE CANDIDATE.— 
The term ‘highest-ranked active candidate’ means 
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the active candidate assigned to a higher ranking 
than any other active candidate. 
‘‘(3) NONPARTISAN BLANKET PRIMARY ELEC-
TION.—The term ‘nonpartisan blanket primary elec-
tion’ means a single, open primary election for the 
office of Senator or the office of Representative in 
Congress in which all candidates for the office are 
listed on the same primary election ballot, regardless 
of political party affiliation. 
‘‘(4) RANKING.—The term ‘ranking’ means the 
number available to be assigned by a voter to a can-
didate to express the voter’s choice for that can-
didate, with ‘1’ as the highest ranking and each suc-
ceeding positive number as the next highest ranking. 
‘‘(5) 
WITHDRAWN
CANDIDATE.—The 
term 
‘withdrawn candidate’ means a candidate who, prior 
to the date of the election, files or has an authorized 
designee file a signed letter of withdrawal from the 
election, in accordance with such rules as the chief 
election official of the State may establish.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT RELATING TO APPLI-
CABILITY OF ENFORCEMENT PROVISIONS.—Section 401 
of the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (52 U.S.C. 21111) 
is amended by striking ‘‘sections 301, 302, and 303’’ and 
inserting ‘‘title III’’. 
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(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 
of such Act is amended by adding at the end of the item 
relating to title III the following: 
‘‘Subtitle C—Ranked Choice Voting 
‘‘PART 1—REQUIRING RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR ELECTION OF 
SENATORS AND REPRESENTATIVES 
‘‘Sec. 321. Requiring ranked choice voting for election of Senators and 
Representatives. 
‘‘Sec. 322. Providing additional runoff elections. 
‘‘Sec. 323. Treatment of primary elections. 
‘‘Sec. 324. Application to District of Columbia and territories. 
‘‘PART 2—TABULATION PROCESS 
‘‘Sec. 331. Tabulation process. 
‘‘Sec. 332. Special rules for nonpartisan blanket primary elections. 
‘‘Sec. 333. Treatment of ties between candidates. 
‘‘Sec. 334. Determination of votes cast for candidates of political parties 
for purposes of access to ballot in Federal elections. 
‘‘PART 3—PAYMENTS TO STATES TO IMPLEMENT RANKED CHOICE VOTING 
‘‘Sec. 341. Payments to States to implement ranked choice voting. 
‘‘PART 4—CIVIL ENFORCEMENT 
‘‘Sec. 351. Civil enforcement. 
‘‘PART 5—DEFINITIONS 
‘‘Sec. 361. Definitions. 
SEC. 3. NO EFFECT ON ELECTIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL 
OFFICE. 
Nothing in this Act or in any amendment made by 
this Act may be construed to affect the manner in which 
a State carries out elections for State or local office. 
SEC. 4. SEVERABILITY. 
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made 
by this Act, or the application of a provision of this Act 
or an amendment made by this Act to any person or cir-
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cumstance, is held to be unconstitutional, the remainder 
of this Act, and the application of the provisions to any 
person or circumstance, shall not be affected by the hold-
ing. 
SEC. 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
This Act and the amendments made by this Act shall 
apply with respect to elections for Federal office held on 
or after January 1, 2027. 
Æ 
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