Ranked Choice Voting
New York City voters have a new way to vote in primary and special elections this year. You will notice some changes in how your ballot looks this election.
Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) allows voters to rank up to 5 candidates by preference instead of choosing just one. If you still want to vote for just one candidate, you can.
Starting in 2021, New York City voters will have the option to rank their top 5 candidates (including a write-in) in our local primary and special elections for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President, and City Council. Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) allows voters to rank up to 5 candidates by preference instead of choosing just one. If you still want to vote for just one candidate, you can.
It works like this:
1st Choice: The candidate you love.
2nd choice: The candidate you like.
3rd or 4th choice: The candidate you like slightly less.
5th choice: The candidate you can stand.
How is a winner determined?
To start, all first choice votes are counted. If a candidate gets 50%+1 of first choice votes, they win. Otherwise, ballots are counted in rounds. In each round the candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated. Ballots for that candidate are counted for the voter’s next choice. Rounds continue until there is a winner of the final 2 candidates.