NYC will soon see ranked-choice voting on ballots

NEW YORK - New York City voters will get to rank candidates in certain elections and primaries this year. Ranked-choice voting is a kind of instant runoff in which voters get to rank up to five candidates on your ballot in order of preference.

Ranked-choice voting will be used for the special election for City Council District 24, which is located in Queens. Early voting is already underway; Election Day is officially Feb. 2. (See the sample ballot below.)

In addition, voters will use ranked-choice voting in the primaries for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough presidents, and City Council seats.

The Board of Elections has prepared instructional videos, brochures, sample ballots, FAQ, and more in several languages.

This is how it works: "If a candidate gets a majority of votes (over 50%) they are declared the winner. If no candidate gets a majority of the vote: The last place candidate is eliminated, and their votes are parceled out to the voter's second choice. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won a majority of the adjusted votes. The process is repeated until a candidate wins an outright majority and is declared the winner." —NYC Board of Elections [Source: vote.nyc]