EXPLAINER
NYC’s RANKED CHOICE VOTING
Voters will be able to select as many as 5 candidates for each race during NYC’s primary elections this year
It means big changes to the ballots.
What's this new ballot?
Each race will include a list of candidates with a grid of bubbles next to each one, allowing you to select a ranking for each.
You should select a different candidate for each choice. If you select the same candidate for all five slots, it only counts as one vote.
How does rank choice voting work?
The candidate with the smallest number of votes is knocked out of the race. Then, that candidate’s second choice votes get allocated across the remaining candidates.
The last place candidate in this round gets knocked out. This process repeats until there are just two candidates standing. The candidate with the most votes wins.
Need an example?
Say, we have a Democratic mayoral primary composed of Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Robert Moses, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Ed Koch and John Lindsay.
Round 1!
Hamilton nets 73 votes — placing last.
All of the Hamilton voters who marked a second choice have their votes reallocated to the remaining candidates.
Round 2!
Burr places last in the second round of voting. If his voters marked a second choice, those votes are then reallocated to the remaining candidates.
If any Hamilton voters backed Burr, their votes are reallocated to their third choice.
In the third round, Lindsay places last. His ballots are reallocated according to the marked preference for the next choice.
Round 3!
Koch loses the next round. His ballots are redistributed too.
It keeps going!
Now it’s just Franklin Roosevelt and Robert Moses. Whoever gets the most votes wins.
FInal faceoff!