The D.C. Board of Elections has officially mailed out the ballots for the 2026 primary election to registered voters. If you’ve opened yours, you’ve seen that it’s unusually long — and it’s not just because of the long list of candidates for a few key races.
This election isn’t just about who we’re voting for, but also how we’re voting. Ranked-choice voting is finally here, meaning that in races with more than three candidates, you don’t have to pick just one. Our voter guide explains more about how that will work.
Some other questions we answer in the guide: Why are the stakes so high for this particular election season? Who is running in the primaries for mayor, attorney general, D.C. delegate to Congress, and the D.C. Council? What do the slates of party officials actually do? And … why is there a special election, again?
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