How ranked-choice did and didn’t live up to its promise
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Ranked-choice voting was said to bring positive change to the way New York City votes and for the most part, it’s proven true. AP file photo by Mary Altaffer
By Jacob Kaye
Before ranked-choice voting was rolled out citywide in one of the most consequential elections in recent history, supporters of the system said it would make elections in New York City generally more democratic.
Ranked-choice boosters said the new voting system would expand the types of voices running for office, give voters more of a say in who ends up in office and create more of a collaborative campaign season, as opposed to one marred by bickering and dirty politicking.
Following June’s primary, some of the promises made by proponents of the system, which allows voters to rank their top five choices in order, have come to fruition while others remain to be seen.
“I would say that this was very successful,” said Debbie Louis, the lead organizer at Rank the Vote NYC. “One, for the education piece, two, for the outcome and three, for the overall user experience.”
While less than half of voters throughout the city chose to rank their ballot using all five slots, around 84 percent of voters ranked at least two candidates in the mayoral race, according to data from Rank the Vote.
Voters in Queens told the Eagle on Election Day that the new system was easy to use, even for voters who knew nothing of the system before stepping into their polling station.
“I think it was kind of easy though I wasn’t expecting it to be,” said Kieran Callihan, a voter in Astoria.
According to Rank the Vote, comprehension of ranked-choice was relatively equal across racial groups, with around 95 percent of white, Black, Hispanic and Asian voters all saying they found the ballot “simple to complete.”
But plenty of voters chose not to engage.
In the race for Queens borough president, Donovan Richards sits atop the count, the likely winner by around 1,000 votes. Around 12,000 voters who either ranked a write-in candidate or third place candidate Jimmy Van Bramer as their first choice, chose not to rank either Richards or second place candidate Elizabeth Crowley.
Had those 12,000 voters ranked a second choice, the outcome of the race could have looked drastically different, by either boosting Richards’ win or by putting Crowley on top.
Louis said that those voters could have exerted more influence on the results of the race by ranking a number two.
“Out of the 12,000 people that voted just for one, they could have done either one or two of the top candidates,” Louis said. “You have more choice, and more power – this would have looked different if we had more number twos, more number threes.”
City Councilmember I. Daneek Miller believes that RCV wasn’t rolled out properly and that voters weren’t educated enough on the processes. He introduced legislation in the council to put the system back up for a vote in November.
“We were very much concerned about the timeliness of its implementation,” Miller told the Eagle last month. “There's a lot to be concerned about [including] whether or not we’ve educated the consumer and the constituency to have the tools and resources to make intelligent decisions in utilizing this new method of voting.”
However, nonpartisan observers say that generally voters had the tools and education necessary to cast informed ballots and participate in the new system.
“I was personally surprised at how well voters took it, how much they knew, how many people ranked candidates and I think it's a testament to the fact that voters like the system,” said Ben Weinberg, the policy director at Citizens Union. “At the end of the day, it's quite simple to understand and there was really great outreach and public education work that the Campaign Finance Board has done, that activists have done, community groups have done and campaigns have done because it really was in the interest of all these candidates to essentially explain that better.”
Opponents of RCV also warned that it would dampen turnout, as voters may be confused or intimidated by the processes. However, Weinberg said the theory didn’t hold.
“Voter turnout for this election was the highest in 30 years in local primaries,” Weinberg said. “I think, at the very least, it did not depress turnout. Some might you can make the argument that it increased turnout.”
More voices on the campaign trail
Supporters of RCV said that the new system would allow for more non-traditional candidates, including women and people of color, to get elected.
Based on the preliminary, unofficial results, it seems as though that’s true.
Richards, who became the first Black man to serve as Queens Borough President when he was elected to the seat in a special election last year, will become the first Black man elected to serve a full term in the office.
In the City Council, 10 of the borough’s 15 Democratic primary races were won by women and 12 were won by a person of color. It’s the first time the Queens’ council delegation will be majority women.
“You're talking about diverse candidates, you're talking about changing the landscape of who we see and how people actually come into office,” Louis said. “That's big.”
“I'm just really happy that we have such a diverse community of folks who are actually from the neighborhoods and who understand the needs of the neighborhood,” she added.
Finding common ground
Because voters are given the opportunity to rank multiple candidates, those running in an RCV election should be more open to finding common ground with their opponents, supporters of the system said.
While getting ranked first is obviously beneficial to the outcome of the race, convincing a voter you’re as worthy of a spot on their ballot as their preferred candidate can go a long way toward winning.
And in order to do that, candidates can’t constantly knock each other down.
Less contentious campaign seasons were said to become a reality with ranked-choice voting and for the most part, that’s been true.
Alfonso Quiroz ran for City Council in District 25 and told the Eagle that he didn’t expect to become close with any of the other candidates in the crowded race. But he quickly found he was wrong.
Fellow candidate Carolyn Tran reached out and the two of them became friends. If the two campaigns had tables set up around the neighborhood near each other, Tran would sometimes drop by with wildflowers that she’d picked, Quiroz said.
The candidate said that while the two didn’t agree on every policy, their camaraderie was “absolutely” made possible because of RCV.
Throughout the campaign season, some candidates publicly announced who they’d be ranking second, although those who did were in the minority. Following the release of the most recent results, candidates took to social media to congratulate their competitors, seemingly in good faith.
It wasn’t all completely friendly though.
In District 26, the most crowded race in Queens, candidates Julie Won and Amit Singh Bagga, who were relatively aligned politically, frequently engaged in squabbles. In the end, Won ended up in first and Bagga in second, so it wouldn’t have made much of a difference if their voters had ranked the other candidate second – neither of their ballots were redistributed during the RCV count.
But Louis says that in order to win, candidates must embrace RCV and fight for voters to rank them second, third, fourth or even fifth. She said that Eric Adams, the presumed winner of the mayoral election, was at first wary of RCV but once he embraced it he began to poll better and eventually went on to win the election.
“He wasn't polling number one at first,” Louis said. “Once he started having a little bit more RCV conversations and strategy, I believe that shifted for him.”
For candidates with their eye on a race in 2023 – this year’s City Council terms are only two years long – Louis has a word of advice.
“Ignoring RCV is a losing strategy,” she said.
