Later this month, New York City Democrats will participate in their party’s primary for mayor. This election marks the second time the city will employ ranked-choice voting (RCV) for selecting its mayoral candidate. Both proponents and critics of RCV are observing closely to evaluate its effectiveness.
New York City voters initially approved RCV during a 2019 referendum. The amendment was proposed by a city charter revision commission and applies to primary elections for all municipal offices, as well as special elections to fill vacancies. The amendment received overwhelming support from voters and was first implemented in a 2021 special election for city council.
New York City is not alone in adopting RCV; Maine and Alaska have implemented similar systems statewide, while cities like San Francisco and Minneapolis also use RCV.
Under New York City’s RCV system, if no candidate receives a majority on the first ballot, the process continues with rounds of elimination. In each round, the last-place candidate is removed, and votes are reallocated based on voter preferences until one candidate achieves a majority.
The initial use of RCV in New York City’s 2021 mayoral primary faced challenges due to an error by the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE), which mistakenly included over 135,000 test ballots in the count. Despite this setback, Eric Adams emerged as the Democratic primary winner after eight rounds of voting and went on to win the general election. He is currently running for reelection as an independent.
Despite past issues, there have been no significant efforts to abandon RCV since its introduction in 2021. If future challenges arise, they are expected to be political rather than legal or administrative.
This year’s leading candidates for the Democratic nomination include former Governor Andrew Cuomo and Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo has positioned himself as a centrist critic of his party’s progressive base, while Mamdani identifies as a democratic socialist with backing from the Democratic Socialists of America.
The outcome of this primary could significantly impact RCV’s future both locally and nationally. Should Cuomo win again under RCV—a system often supported by progressives—it may raise questions about its efficacy among centrists within the Democratic Party. Conversely, if Mamdani wins, it could prompt moderate Democrats to reconsider their stance on expanding or maintaining RCV across other regions.
Ranked-choice voting remains a prominent topic in electoral reform discussions across the United States. The results of New York’s upcoming mayoral primary may influence how long this momentum persists.
