Democracy done right – Ranked Choice in New York City

David beats Goliath this round in NYC

As Ranked Choice shows what’s possible

In a time where so many people feel powerless to be heard, the Democratic Party Primary in New York City this week shined a light on how politics can be meaningful to the many when we use ranked choice voting.

The New Republic: New York’s Election System Isn’t Chaotic. It’s Democracy Done Right.

The news media all said former Governor Andrew Cuomo – yes, that one – was “unstoppable” with at least one $25 million PAC warchest, stuffed full by billionaire backers and corporations, on top of his standard campaign haul. As far as the celebrity seeking reporting was concerned, it was the famous, albeit disgraced, former governor against a bunch of random progressives and assorted wanna-bes. But then something started to happen… A combination of dedicated, inspired campaigning, listening and connecting with people — within the space and possibility opened by ranked choice voting.

Fantastic ranked choice voting explainer from CNN 

One candidate’s campaign started catching fire, and many of those seeking a Cuomo ordination started to get nervous and complain about the voter-empowering system that might stand in the way of their steamroller. Why? Because in old-style elections, the powerful can rely on big fields of similar candidates to argue with each other, take each other down, and rain on the parade of upstarts. But Ranked Choice Voting had flipped the script. 

The field of “nobodies” – that we were to find out actually held almost two-thirds of first round support of the primary electorate – didn’t tear each other apart. In fact, many of these candidates started to cross-endorse each other, highlighting their shared purpose and values, without sacrificing their unique claims to be the best choice.

The influential Working Families Party endorsed a set of four candidates to rank, rather than just one. Along with this shared slate, the anti-Cuomo faction united around slogans like ABC (Anybody But Cuomo) and DREAM (Don’t Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor), showing that while RCV created civility amongst the like minded, the sharp elbows of intense competition would be used as needed. And then when the two strongest progressives in the race formed a tight and compelling bond, it really got real.

Rolling Stone: ‘Politics of the Future’ article

Zohran Mamdani, the inspiring, charismatic, and aspirational (or delusional depending on who you are talking to) young politician whose fingers were glued to the pulse of so many in the city, and Brad Lander, the experienced, trusted (or for some boring), former comptroller. Two progressives, youth and experience, a Muslim and a Jew – in a traditionally fractured field, each compelling, but alone vulnerable – not least to the barbs they could unleash on each other. But under ranked choice voting, a fantastic pair to make a strong appeal together, each having the other’s back. And it could be the beginning of a new partnership, with speculation that Lander would serve as a deputy in any Mamdani administration, should he be elected.

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YouTube: Lander & Mamdani on The Colbert Show

The rest is now history. You don’t have to be a Zohran Mamdani fan or agree with his politics to appreciate this. If you believe in democracy, government of, by, and for the people, then the ability for the voice of the many voters to be heard over the powerful few matters. Zohran Mamdani began the contest polling under 1% before engineering a brisk and steady ascent. He spoke to the cost of living from the left and it resonated, similar to the way Eric Adams spoke to crime from the right when he ran in 2021.

In this primary election at least, David beat Goliath, and ranked choice voting was the slingshot that enabled it to happen. And there’s reason to believe it can keep happening – ranked choice voting along with term limits and campaign finance reform have been doing wonders for getting responsive, new blood on the city council since 2021.

So everything’s perfect now?

Does that mean everything is perfect now in NYC? Heck no. Where do we start?

The general election uses traditional broken, pick-one plurality voting.

Multiple candidates are running and one could win with less than 30% of the votes, because the general election will not use Ranked Choice Voting, which guarantees a majority winner. In addition to Mamdani, former Democrat and incumbent mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent. Andrew Cuomo may abuse a fusion party line to run as well. And there will be at least two other candidates, Republican Curtis Sliwa and Independent Jim Walden, a corporate defence attorney.

More choice for the larger number of general election voters should be a good thing. With old fashioned pick-one plurality voting it’s a crisis and a voter coordination problem on steroids. With RCV, it works.

Many voters’ hands will be tied.

Voters afraid of Sliwa or Adams or Cuomo or Mamdani may feel pressure to vote not for their favorite, but for who they feel has the best chance to beat their biggest fear. And even so, with so many different voter perspectives, there is a coordination problem that pick-one voting simply cannot solve.

Many voters were not heard from.

In the primary election that determined who will go to the general election, many New Yorkers that choose not to register with a specific political party were locked out of creating the options for the general election. How many? Well, about 22% cannot vote in partisan primaries because they are independent voters and New York has closed primaries. And turnout was low for the Democratic primary – under 20% of the total registered voters. Solutions to this might include Mobile Voting (see for example, Bradley Tusk’s blog), Universal Voting, or perhaps Open Primaries.

Unite NY & Let Us Vote volunteers standing out on primary day for the rights of independent voters.

A candidate problem.

There are a lot of legitimate, diverging perspectives on the best path forward for New York. Is Andrew Cuomo really the best standard bearer for business friendly New Yorkers? Would it be possible to elect compelling progressives with real experience? What’s to blame? Probably several things.

There’s the PACs that short circuit the public campaign finance system. There’s the absence of RCV in the general election, which effectively limits NYC to two candidate producing parties, only one of which can reliably win – and also discourages competent independent candidates. Then there’s the fact that to be the nominee for the likely winning party – the Democrats, or the far less likely – Republicans – you have to run the gauntlet of the respective polarized party primary electorates.

Not a situation that encourages to run the most highly talented, qualified people with other opportunities… Especially when the prize is one of the most thankless and challenging jobs you can imagine — being the mayor of a large US city.

A weak, divided party problem?

Do the pro-business Dems and the progressives still belong together in the same party? Is one party enough to be a vehicle for both of them at the same time? Very arguably not. And while the fusion parties have some positives, it’s not as real when you can’t run candidates on a level playing field.

Multiple, strong parties with several orientations would be invaluable for exploring, crystalizing, and amplifying the most important wishes of the diverse constituencies of NYC, and identifying, developing, and resourcing highly capable, qualified, appealing candidates to champion these perspectives. Whatever else, there needs to be Ranked Choice Voting in the general election, so that new parties can compete and grow, and alongside the existing major parties, serve these crucial functions.

Slow reporting.

It’s kind of unfathomable that the NYC elections department doesn’t hold itself to providing ongoing updates in the tally as they approach the final. But they don’t. RCV is not the obstacle here.

But let’s not let the absence of perfection stop us from celebrating the great in New York City. 

Real success to celebrate

Whether you have been swept up in the “Mamdani Magic” or would have preferred someone else, feel good about this – New York City’s 2025 primary has shown with ranked choice voting we can:

• Get past cynicism and apathy by electing candidates that speak to huge swaths of voters who feel unheard.
• Break the power of billionaire dollars to ram candidates down the throat of the electorate.
• Continue improving elections with positive changes, so we get stronger parties and candidates, and people are central to the process.

As FairVote has summed it up:

Yesterday, New York City used ranked choice voting (RCV) in its primary elections for the third time – picking nominees for mayor, City Council, and other offices. Because of RCV, voters got more choice and more competition, and the city will get majority nominees without costly, low-turnout runoffs in July. Turnout was the highest for a mayoral race since 1989, and the city is poised to maintain its majority-women City Council, first elected with RCV.

Stronger elections with reforms like ranked choice voting are the great hope and the great opportunity for us today. And let’s raise a glass to RCV in NYC, for letting the beacon shine in messy, real world elections that matter.

Thank *YOU* for being part of Rank the Vote making choice, power, and hope for voters happen not just in the Big Apple, but across the country. If they can make it there, we can make it everywhere!

It’s up to us!