Proposal would bring ranked-choice voting to NYC

NEW YORK - A new proposal would bring ranked-choice voting to New York City. Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their candidates in order of preference, rather than casting a single ballot for one candidate.

Supporters say it gives voters even more of a voice.

“Just think if we had ranked choice voting for the special election for public advocate where we had 17 people running. It would have been easier for the voted to make sense of that crowded field,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause New York.

The catch with ranked-choice voting is that if the candidate doesn’t get the majority, or more than 50 percent of the vote the ballot goes into an instant runoff where the candidate with the least number one rankings would be eliminated, but others would still have a chance to be voted favorite. 

Ranked-choice voting has already had smooth rollouts in cities like Minneapolis and states like Maine, which has adopted special voting machines for ranked-choice voting.