How Does Rank Choice Voting Work in NYC

In New York City, Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) is used for certain local elections, including primary and special elections for positions like Mayor, City Council, and Comptroller.

Here’s a breakdown of how it works:

🗳️ What is Ranked-Choice Voting?

In a Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) system, voters are able to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than just choosing one. Here’s how it operates:

1. Rank up to 5 candidates: You can rank as many or as few candidates as you want (up to 5). You rank candidates in order of preference: 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, etc.

2. If no candidate gets a majority: If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote after the first round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on the second-choice votes of their supporters.

3. Elimination continues: This process continues, with the candidate with the fewest votes being eliminated in each round, and their votes being redistributed, until one candidate reaches more than 50% of the votes and is declared the winner.

🏙️ How Does It Work in NYC?

For example, in a mayoral election:

1. Voter Chooses Candidates: You rank up to five candidates in order of preference. You don’t have to rank all five; you can leave some spots blank if you prefer.

2. First Round of Counting: When the polls close, the ballots are counted. The first-choice votes are tallied for each candidate.

   • If one candidate gets over 50% of the vote, they win outright.

3. Elimination & Redistribution: If no candidate reaches 50%, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Their votes are then transferred to the voters’ second-choice candidate.

4. Repeat: This elimination process continues, with votes being redistributed according to second, third, and so on, until one candidate has more than 50% of the remaining votes and is declared the winner.

Example of Elimination Process:

Let’s say there are 5 candidates: A, B, C, D, and E.

• Round 1:

  • Candidate A gets 40%

  • Candidate B gets 30%

  • Candidate C gets 15%

  • Candidate D gets 10%

  • Candidate E gets 5%

Since Candidate E has the fewest votes, they are eliminated. Voters who ranked E as their first choice will have their votes transferred to their second choice.

• Round 2 (after E is eliminated):

  • Candidate A gets 45%

  • Candidate B gets 35%

  • Candidate C gets 20%

Now, Candidate C has the fewest votes, so they are eliminated, and their votes are redistributed based on their supporters’ second choices.

• Round 3:

  • Candidate A gets 55%

  • Candidate B gets 45%

Now, Candidate A has more than 50% of the vote and wins!

🧩 Why Use Ranked-Choice Voting?

1. More Choice: Voters aren’t forced to choose “the lesser of two evils” and can pick candidates they actually like without worrying about “wasting” their vote.

2. Better Representation: The winning candidate generally has broader support, as they were the second or third choice for many voters who didn’t initially support them.

3. Encourages Civil Campaigning: Candidates are less likely to launch negative campaigns, since their supporters’ second-choice votes are important too.

🧠 Things to Remember About RCV in NYC:

• No more “spoiler” effect: In traditional voting, a third-party candidate might take votes from a major candidate, but with RCV, your second and third choices can still count.

• Voting “strategies”: It’s important to vote sincerely and rank candidates you genuinely prefer. Don’t worry about “wasting” votes on less likely candidates—your vote will always go to your next choice if your preferred candidate is eliminated.

• You don’t need to rank all five: If you don’t feel strongly about a candidate, you can choose to rank fewer than five candidates (or none at all), but remember, ranking more gives your vote more weight as the elimination process progresses.

🗓️ When Does RCV Apply in NYC?

• Primary and Special Elections: As of 2021, RCV is used in all primary and special elections for positions like Mayor, City Council, and other citywide offices.

• General Elections: For general elections, NYC still uses the traditional first-past-the-post system, where the candidate with the most votes wins.

📚 Example: NYC Mayoral Race (2021)

In the 2021 New York City mayoral race, the RCV system was used to determine the winner of the Democratic primary between Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley, and Andrew Yang.

• First Round: Adams led but didn’t have 50% of the vote.

• Elimination: Andrew Yang was eliminated first, and his voters’ second-choice votes were redistributed.

• The process continued with each round of eliminations until Eric Adams was declared the winner after the final redistribution of votes.

✅ Recap: How RCV Works

1. Rank your candidates from 1st to 5th.

2. If no candidate has more than 50%, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated.

3. Redistribute votes based on the second (and then third, etc.) choices until one candidate has more than 50% and wins.