Ranked Choice Voting
in New York City
DN
YC
12/
21
RCV in NYC Outline
1. Introduction
2. What is Ranked Choice Voting (RCV)?
3. How does RCV Work?
Pause for questions from Q&A
4. Reasons to Rank
5. Next Steps
Open Discussion & questions
Campaign Finance Board &
NYC Votes
WHO WE ARE
The CFB administers NYC's public matching funds program, provides
campaign finance disclosure, and engages voters through the NYC Votes
initiative.
Charter mandate to conduct voter education and outreach campaign introducing
Ranked Choice Voting to New Yorkers.
Campaign Finance Board &
NYC Votes
OUR WORK
Together with our partners and volunteers, the CFB & NYC Votes:
Inform all New Yorkers with what they need to know to participate in our
democracy
Engage underrepresented communities through outreach initiatives
Meet your trainer
Allie Swatek, Director of Policy and Research, New York City Campaign
Finance Board
Re-joined CFB in January, worked in the Candidate Services Unit during
2013 election
Before the CFB, policy staff on the 2019 Charter Revision Commission
Didn’t know much about Ranked Choice Voting until 2018
Goals for this training
Training attendees will understand:
1. Overview of Ranked Choice Voting in NYC
2. How RCV can benefit voters
3. Where to find resources and FAQs
What is Ranked Choice
Voting?
What is Ranked
Choice Voting (RCV)?
RCV is a new way for voters to elect
their representatives
Voters can rank up to 5 candidates in
order of preference, instead of
choosing just one.
This gives voters more say in who
wins, increases civility, and can lead to
more diverse candidates winning.
Who uses RCV?
17 U.S. cities (including San
Francisco, Minneapolis and
Santa Fe)
Maine (+ Alaska soon)
the Academy Awards
How did RCV get to NYC?
The 2019 Charter Revision Commission voted to create Ballot Question #1,
to establish ranked choice voting in primary and special elections for local
office, effective January 1, 2021.
73.5% of New York City voters voted YES
RCV in NYC
Effective January 1, 2021
Used in special & primary Not used in general elections
elections for city offices
All 5 city offices: Not used for Federal or State
Mayor races like President, Congress, or
Governor
Public Advocate
Not used in local races like District
Comptroller
Attorney and Judgeships
Borough President
City Council
How did we vote for these
offices before?
Single-choice plurality elections
Voters choose only one candidate for each office and the candidate with the
highest number of votes wins.
The winner doesn’t always receive a majority (>50%) of the vote
Voters will still use single-choice elections for Federal, State, and
certain local offices like District Attorney AND in general elections
Drawbacks to single-choice
voting
LESS FREQUENT MAJORITY SUPPORT -- In single-choice plurality
elections, a candidate can win with 33% of the vote, which means 67% of
the electorate had no part in electing the winner
How did we vote for these
offices before?
…With runoffs for citywide office
If no candidate received more than 40% of the total primary election vote
for Mayor, Public Advocate, and Comptroller, a run-off election took place
Ranked choice voting eliminates all runoff elections
Drawbacks to runoffs
RUNOFFS HAVE LOW TURNOUT, ARE EXPENSIVE, AND DON’T
ALLOW FULL PARTICIPATION – Turnout in runoff elections is 35-65%
lower than a primary election, cost $20M to run, and military and overseas
voters don’t have time to mail back their ballots.
How does RCV work?
Steps for Marking a Ballot
Pick your first-choice candidate and completely fill
in the oval next to their name under the 1st column.
If you have a second-choice candidate, fill in the
oval next to their name under the 2nd column.
You can rank up to 5 candidates. You can still
choose to vote for only one candidate if you prefer.
Example Ballot
Council District 24 Special Election
Sample Ballot provided by the NYC
Board of Elections; showing English,
Spanish, and Bengali, languages vary
by ED/AD
Potential Ballot Marking
Errors
Do not give multiple
candidates the same rank
Do not rank a candidate
more than once
How your vote is counted
All first-choice votes are
counted.
If a candidate receives
more than 50% of first-
choice votes, they win the
election.
How your vote is counted
All first-choice votes are
counted.
If no candidate earns more
than 50% of first-choice
votes, then counting will
continue in rounds.
How your vote is counted
Each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
How your vote is counted
If your top-choice candidate is eliminated, your vote goes to the next
highest ranked candidate on your ballot.
How your vote is counted
VOTE DISTRIBUTION NEW TOTALS
How your vote is counted
Each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated.
How your vote is counted
If your top-choice candidate is eliminated, your vote goes to the next
highest ranked candidate on your ballot.
How your vote is counted
This process continues until there are only 2 candidates left.
The candidate with the most votes wins!
Main takeaways for voters
You can rank up to five candidates, but you do not need to rank a total
of 5.
If you rank 5 candidates, five votes do not get counted. You always
only have 1 active vote.
Main takeaways for voters
If you prefer, you can still vote for just your first-choice candidate.
However, ranking other candidates does not harm your first choice.
By ranking multiple candidates, you can still impact who gets elected
even if your top choice does not win.
Ranking multiple candidates ensures your vote will go toward your
2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th choice if your top choice is eliminated, giving you
more say in who wins.
When to expect results
As we saw in 2020, the winner of some races might not be known on
election night
In half of RCV elections, there’s a winner in the first round
But that means that in the other half, the winner won’t be known for a
week or longer
Pause for Questions…
Reasons to Rank
Ways RCV benefits voters
1. Voters have more say in who gets elected
2. Candidates are more likely to appeal to a wider
audience
3. Voters elect more diverse candidates
You have more say in who
gets elected
➢ Even if your top choice does not win, you can still help
choose who does
➢ You can vote for your top choice first, without worrying about
who is likely to win
Candidates are more likely to
appeal to a wider audience
➢ Candidates who are not your top choice still need your 2nd,
3rd, 4th, or 5th choice vote, leading them to appeal to you
instead of attacking each other
➢ More civility and less negativity
Voters elect more diverse
candidates
➢ Elected officials are more representative of the communities
they serve
➢ In cities with Ranked Choice Voting, more women candidates
and women candidates of color get elected
When will RCV be
used?
When will I use RCV?
Queens District 24 (Rory Lancman)
Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest,
Jamaica Estates, Briarwood, Parkway Village, Jamaica Hills, Jamaica
February 2, 2021 (early voting January 23-31)
Queens District 31 (Donovan Richards)
Arverne, Brookville, Edgemere, Far Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale,
Springfield Gardens
February 23, 2021 (early voting February 13-21)
When will I use RCV?
Bronx Special Elections
March 23, 2021 (early voting March 13-21)
All voters registered to a political party holding
a primary
Bronx District 11 (Andy Cohen)
Bedford Park, Kingsbridge, Riverdale, Norwood, Van Cortlandt
Village, Wakefield, Woodlawn
Bronx District 15 (Ritchie Torres)
Bedford Park, Fordham, Mount Hope, Bathgate, Belmont, East
Tremont, West Farms, Van Nest, Allerton, Olinville
When will I use RCV?
Citywide Primary Elections
June 22, 2021 (early voting June 12 - 20)
All voters registered to a political party holding a primary
Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller
Borough Presidents
51 City Council races
Other Resources for RCV
information
NYC Campaign Finance Board
General voting information: voting.nyc
RCV in NYC: nyccfb.info/rcv
FAQ: nyccfb.info/rcvfaqs
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram: @nycvotes
Other Resources for RCV
information
NYC Board of Elections
Information about RCV: https://vote.nyc/page/ranked-choice-voting
RCV video: https://youtu.be/5VdJBo16fDM
Poll site locator: https://findmypollsite.vote.nyc/
Twitter: @boenyc
DN
YC
12/
21
Contact information
NYC Votes & NYC Campaign Finance Board: nycvotes@nyccfb.info
Allie Swatek: aswatek@nyccfb.info
Amanda Melillo: amelillo@nyccfb.info
Open Discussion and
Questions!
