Federal Ban on Ranked Choice Voting Kicks In for All Elections Starting 2026

This bill, titled the “Preventing Ranked Choice Corruption Act,” lays down a clear, nationwide rule: no more Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) in federal elections. If you’re voting for President, Senator, or Representative, you won’t be able to rank candidates in order of preference. This change is being written directly into the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and is set to take effect for the 2026 election cycle and every cycle after that.

The End of Ranking: What it Means for Your Ballot

For most people in the country, this bill won’t change much, as RCV is currently used in only a handful of states and localities for federal races. However, for jurisdictions that have adopted RCV—or were planning to—this is a hard stop. The bill, specifically Section 2, prohibits any state from using RCV for federal office. This means that even if your city or state government likes RCV for local races, they must switch back to a traditional plurality system (where the candidate with the most votes wins, even if it’s less than 50%) for Congress and Presidential elections.

Think of it this way: if you live in a place like Maine, which uses RCV for federal elections, your ballot process for the Senate race will look fundamentally different starting in 2026. Instead of ranking your top three choices, you’ll be forced to pick just one. The stated goal here is uniformity and standardization across the country for federal elections, which could simplify administration, but the cost is flexibility and local control over election mechanics.

Limiting Local Election Choices

This federal mandate essentially overrides state-level decisions regarding election administration for federal offices. While the federal government certainly has the authority to regulate its own elections, this move restricts the ability of states and local governments to experiment with alternative voting methods that some see as reducing political polarization or avoiding expensive runoffs. For voters who value having more choice or feel RCV gives third-party candidates a fairer shot, this bill removes that option entirely, focusing power back on the traditional two-party system.

Because the bill targets RCV specifically and clearly amends existing law (Section 305 of the Help America Vote Act), there is little ambiguity about what is banned. The impact is straightforward: if you like ranking your candidates, you’ll only be able to do it for state and local races, not for Congress or the Presidency, starting in 2026.