Ranked Choice Voting Works in NYC, So Let’s Take It Statewide

New York City’s recent Democratic mayoral primary highlighted one thing that most New Yorkers agree on — ranked choice voting gives citizens a better opportunity to select candidates they actually like.

Ranked choice voting is an upgrade to the way we vote that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference — increasing competition, encouraging civility and requiring candidates to win genuine policy support from voters, rather than just stoking division.

And that came out in full force in our recent election. The numbers show it.

Our friends at FairVote.org shared recent data from the New York City Board of Elections and SurveyUSA. The results include encouraging numbers, such as:

• New York voters continue to support RCV: 76% want to keep it or expand it to more elections.
• 81% of voters say they understand RCV very or extremely well.
• Turnout exceeded 1 million voters for the first time since 1989, and the city is also poised to keep its majority-women City Council – first elected under RCV. 

Not only did New Yorkers show up to vote, but they also seemed genuinely pleased with how ranked choice voting encourages a more civil and positive campaign. Multiple candidates with similar views even cross-endorsed each other. In fact, RCV tends to foster issue-focused, respectful contests.

According to RankedVote, “Campaigns in elections using ranked choice voting have a stark difference from typical ‘most votes wins’ elections — playing for second place is a viable strategy. This reduces the incentive to go ‘scorched earth’ on an opponent.”

In the recent NYC mayoral race, candidates Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani cross-endorsed one another. This may have contributed to Mamdani’s win and, for Lander, earned goodwill in the Big Apple. In a Politico interview, Lander said, “People, it turned out, were so hungry for a more hopeful and collaborative form of politics.”

At Unite NY, we couldn’t agree more. As the Statewide Organizing Director, I get to interact every day with New Yorkers who genuinely want a stronger democracy, more civil disagreement and more choices on the ballot.

We’re pleased that ranked choice voting has worked so well in New York City. Now it’s time to bring a stronger democracy, more civil campaigns and more choices across the state by implementing RCV statewide.

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