Charleston, W.Va. – WV Secretary of State Kris Warner’s 2025 legislative agenda as the state’s chief elections officer advanced this week with the WV Legislature and the governor approving Senate Bill 490 which prohibits conducting any state, county, or local elections from using the ranked choice voting method.
Ranked choice voting is a process that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than picking a single candidate for each race. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest preference votes is eliminated and those votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the voter’s next preference. The process is repeated until a candidate receives a majority of the votes.
“Ranked choice voting is a complicated process that reduces confidence in election outcomes,” said Secretary Warner. “It can theoretically result in an initially third-or-fourth favorite candidate being elected.”
Only two states – Alaska and Maine – use ranked choice voting statewide. Some states, such as California, Hawaii, and New York, do not explicitly prohibit ranked choice voting, allowing the process to be used in local elections, resulting in non-uniformity in administration. Many states prohibit ranked choice voting. To date, ranked choice voting has not been used in any West Virginia election, and this bill was a preemptive effort to avoid special interests pushing municipalities to adopt the alternative voting method.
“Fair, accurate, and secure elections are the foundation of our government,” said Secretary Warner. “In West Virginia, the highest vote-getter is the winner. That method is tried and true, easy to understand, uniform, and transparent to the electorate.”
“I am grateful to the Legislature for taking this simple but important legislation seriously and getting it across the finish line early in the session,” Warner said.
