Congress·In Committee·H.R. 6589

Ranked Choice Voting Act

House Bill Would Require Ranked Choice Voting in All Congressional Elections

Dec 10, 2025·View on Congress.gov·Read full text

This bill is one vehicle in a longer effort. See the full story across every version.View effort →

StalledNext up: A house committeeNo action in 7 months

This bill is currently sitting in the House Committee on House Administration where it has been since December 2025. No action has been taken on the proposal for six months. The House committee must review the bill before it can move forward, but it is currently stalled.

Legislative Progress

House

No action since December 2025

Senate

President

Law

How we got here

This bill’s path across every version that has carried it.

Reintroduced
Reintroduced from H.R. 9578 (118th), which died when its Congress ended.
H.R. 9578 (118th) →

Key Points

States would have to use ranked choice voting for U.S. House and U.S. Senate elections, including primaries, special elections, and general elections.
Ballots would let voters rank candidates (at least 5 choices, or fewer if there aren’t that many), with clear instructions on how to mark rankings.
The bill would end separate runoff elections for U.S. House and U.S. Senate races, since the ranking process is meant to replace runoffs.
States would get federal payments to update voting equipment, software, training, ballot printing, and voter education to make the switch.
If a State doesn’t follow the rules, the U.S. Attorney General or affected voters could sue to force compliance; it would start for elections on or after Jan. 1, 2030.

Civil Rights

Impact Analysis

Personal Impact

How this policy affects specific groups of people

Mixed Impacts(3)

Physical Disability

Neutral

Sensory Disability

Neutral

Cognitive Developmental

Neutral

Milestones

2 milestones2 actions

Dec 10, 2025House

Referred to the House Committee on House Administration.

Dec 10, 2025

Introduced in House

The bill was officially filed and given a number. It now enters the legislative queue.

Related News

3 articles

Ballot Access News·Jan 16

January 2026 Ballot Access News Print Edition

Notes the Dec. 10 introduction of companion bills H.R. 6589 and S. 3425 requiring ranked choice voting for congressional primaries and general elections; mentions sponsor counts and what systems would be affected.

The Washington Post·Dec 17, 2025

Ready for ranked-choice voting, D.C.? It's moving forward.

Covers D.C.’s implementation timeline for ranked choice voting after a delay effort failed; provides context on RCV mechanics but does not focus on the federal Ranked Choice Voting Act bill itself.

Center Left

Axios·Dec 1, 2025

D.C.'s new ranked choice voting system is in limbo

Explains uncertainty around D.C.’s rollout of ranked choice voting for local elections; useful background on RCV but not specific to the federal Ranked Choice Voting Act bills.

Center

No votes or related bills recorded for this bill yet.