1199SEIU Comes Out For Ranked Choice Voting in NYC

NEW YORK, NY (09/24/2019) (readMedia)-- 1199SEIU has officially endorsed Ranked Choice Voting, a process that gives voters the option to rank their top five candidates in local New York City primary and special elections. If voters still want to vote for just one candidate, they can. Ranked choice voting (RCV) will be the first ballot question when voters go to the polls starting October 26 for early voting. 1119's endorsement comes just after the launch of the "Rank the Vote" coalition at the steps of Federal Hall.

"Ranked Choice will help foster democracy and open dialogue between candidates and voters, and make sure candidates are engaging all facets of the constituency they seek to represent," said George Gresham, President of 1199SEIU.

1199SEIU represents 450,000 caregivers, and is the largest healthcare workers' union in the country.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank their top five candidates in order of preference. If voters still want to vote for just one candidate, they can. A candidate who collects a majority of the vote, fifty percent plus one, wins. If there's no majority winner, then the last place candidate will be eliminated and the second choice votes for that candidate are redistributed. The process is repeated until there is a majority winner.

Voters can learn more at rankthevotenyc.org.

Ranked Choice Voting is already in use in cities like Minneapolis and San Francisco, and has long been the standard in Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. In 2020 Maine will make history as the first state to use RCV in their presidential primary after first implementing RCV in 2016.

"CWA District 1 believes strongly in electing pro-labor, pro-working families candidates. That is why we are actively supporting the push for Ranked Choice Voting in NYC, a major reform that will give voters more choice and a stronger voice in local elections by letting them choose the candidate that most represents them," said Dennis Trainor, Vice President CWA District 1.

"There's no doubt that New York is in need of electoral reform – and ranked choice voting in New York City must be a key part of it. It would better reflect the voters' wishes, and provide the winner with a broader mandate and more credibility," said Stuart Appelbaum, President of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU).

In 2021, 70% of the City Council will be term limited, as well as all five borough presidents, Comptroller Scott Stringer and Mayor Bill de Blasio. The Campaign Finance Board predicts that at least 500 candidates will be competing for open seats, meaning up to 12 candidates vying for each City Council seat. A 2018 Common Cause/NY study found that 64 percent of multi-candidate primaries in New York City were won with less than 50 percent of the vote, and not a single race with 4 or more candidates produced a majority winner. Candidates elected through Ranked Choice Voting will always win with a majority of the vote.

Background:

The "Rank the Vote" coalition is a broad group of supporters from New York Communities for Change, the Partnership for New York City, Common Cause/NY, RWDSU, and more. See here for a full list of endorsers.

Most candidates win crowded elections in New York City by campaigning to their base, and fail to get a majority. With ranked choice voting, candidates will be forced to campaign to the broader electorate in the hopes of also being ranked second or third. Ranked choice voting helps create consensus candidates with majority support.

In the last three election cycles in New York City, sixty-three percent of multi-candidate primaries were won with less than 50% of the vote, 30% were won with less than 40%, and nearly 10% were won with less than 30%. In 2021, close to 70% of the New York City Council members, and all five borough presidents, the Comptroller and Mayor, will be term limited. The New York City Campaign Finance Board is already anticipating the opening of at least 500 campaign committees, which averages to 12 candidates per race.

The Democracy Fund surveyed voters from ten cities, three where Ranked Choice Voting is in use and seven where it is not. The two year study found that voters in places with Ranked Choice Voting were happier with campaign conduct and experienced less negative campaigning than voters in places that do not use Ranked Choice Voting. A second comparative survey of voters in California in cities that do and do not use Ranked Choice Voting found that a majority supported adopting Ranked Choice Voting to improve election conduct. Other surveys conducted in California found major gains for people of color, increasing representation in majority-minority districts by 17 percent, multi-ethnic districts by 24 percent, and white majority districts by 9 percent. Ranked Choice Voting prevents the "spoiler effect," and encourages coalition building.

In early April, Common Cause/NY released a new analysis that builds on a previous report -- The Case for Ranked Choice Voting in New York City -- which quantifies the prevalence of multi-candidate primaries in the last three election cycles in NYC. The study found:

  • Over the last three election cycles, the average number of candidates ranged from 4 to 5.
  • Over the last three election cycles, less than 15% of multi-candidate primaries with 4 or more candidates produced majority support winners.
  • In 2013, the last primary election cycle with a wave of open seats, no race with 4 or more candidates produced a majority support winner.