Perspectives: Ranked-Choice Voting in NYC
Summary from the AllSides News Team
New York City’s mayoral primary election ends Tuesday and features ranked-choice voting, an electoral method that has gained popularity in recent years. Instead of voting for one candidate, voters rank candidates by preference. In New York, voters rank their top five among the 13 Democratic primary candidates or the two Republican primary candidates. If no candidate receives over 50% of the votes, the candidate with the least first-choice votes is eliminated and their voters' second choices are counted; this process is repeated until a candidate receives over 50% of the votes. In 2019, New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted in favor of implementing ranked-choice voting by a 3-1 margin. The top five contenders in this year’s Democratic primary, the winner of which is expected to win the general election, are Eric Adams, Andrew Yang, Kathryn Garcia, Scott Stringer, and Maya Wiley.
Voices were relatively balanced across the spectrum, noting that the new ranked-choice system could take weeks to declare a winner and that the outcome could affect the implementation of ranked-choice voting throughout the country.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Ranked-Choice Voting Gets A Prime-Time Shot Under New York City's Bright Lights
An important election takes place Tuesday in New York City.
But beyond who wins the mayoral primaries there, what happens could have consequences for how millions of Americans vote in the future.
That's because the city, for the first time, is using ranked-choice voting. The method, which allows voters to rank candidates by preference rather than selecting just their top choice, has gained some traction throughout the country, pushed by reformers who say it's a better election system.
New York City, though, is by far the largest jurisdiction to implement ranked-choice voting, and that...
From the Right
Ranked Choice Voting Gets Biggest Test Yet in New York City
New York City's raucous mayoral primary today will be the country's most prominent test of ranked choice voting. How it all works out may make the case for wider adoption.
Democratic Party voters have 13 mayoral candidates on their ballots. They don't have to select just one to face off against Republican and third-party candidates in the November general election; they can choose and rank up to five candidates in order of preference.
With ranked choice voting, it's not enough for the top candidate to get a plurality of the votes. He or she must have a...
From the Left
Don’t Overthink Ranked-Choice Voting, New York City
Last month this board endorsed Kathryn Garcia for mayor of New York City and urged voters to cast a ballot for her in the June 22 Democratic primary. (Early voting begins June 12.)
Normally, that would be the end of it. But this year’s ballot looks different, for mayor and for other citywide races. Instead of having only one choice in each race, New York City voters have the opportunity to rank up to five candidates, in order of preference.
Ranked-choice voting, as it’s known, has been in use for decades around...
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