“Rank Your Vote DC” Launches First Ads to Educate Voters Featuring Ben Ali, Owner of Ben’s Chili Bowl

Six-figure digital and streaming video ad campaign uses Ben’s Chili Bowl’s iconic food to demystify ranked choice voting ahead of DC’s June primary election

WASHINGTON, DC – Today Rank Your Vote DC launched a new paid advertising campaign as part of its voter education initiative to inform District residents about the city's new ranked choice voting system ahead of the June primary election. The six-figure digital and streaming video ad campaign features menu items from DC’s own beloved Ben's Chili Bowl to break down ranked choice voting in a simple and memorable way.

The video ad features Ben’s Chili Bowl owner Ben Ali and will run across digital and social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. The video ad will be reinforced by mailers reaching voters across every ward – focusing on residents who are the least familiar with ranked choice voting. 

WATCH THE FULL VIDEO AD HERE 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBH-L9RRII

“Ranked choice voting is democracy at its best, and knowing your voice is being heard is pretty satisfying,” says Ali in the video ad, whose family’s restaurant has been a DC institution for more than six decades.

In addition to the video, Opportunity DC is sending an educational mailer that will reach voters across every ward – focusing on residents who are the least familiar with ranked choice voting.

VIEW MAILER HERE

“If we do this right — if we make sure voters have clear, simple information about how the new system works — then every resident in the District, regardless of background or experience with ranked choice voting, will be able to cast their ballot confidently and make their voice heard,” said Dawn Cook, a Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner and leader of Rank Your Vote DC. “Rank Your Vote DC’s new ad is laser-focused on accomplishing that goal.”

New polling conducted by Hart Research from February 10-13, 2026 (margin of error: ±4.1%) shows that 43% of all DC voters are not aware of the new ranked choice system, with 66% of Black voters not aware. Without timely, accessible information, voters risk walking into polling places unprepared, and ballots risk being rejected simply because they were filled out incorrectly.

ABOUT RANK YOUR VOTE DC

Composed of DC residents, small-business owners, and community advocates, Rank Your Vote DC is a public education initiative designed to ensure voters are informed, confident, and prepared to successfully cast their ballots under the city’s new ranked choice voting system. The program is a project of Opportunity DC, a 501c(4) organization dedicated to increasing economic opportunity and lowering the cost of living through commonsense public policy in the District of Columbia. To learn more, and access simple, easy-to-understand ranked choice voting educational materials, visit RCVDC.org.