Former Speaker MMV, Common Cause/NY, Others Push for Ranked Choice Voting and Civic Education in City Budget

NEW YORK, NY (03/21/2022) (readMedia)-- Ahead of Tuesday's Government Operations Committee preliminary budget hearing in the NYC Council, Rank the Vote NYC board members, including Susan Lerner, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Bill Chong, Rosemonde Pierre-Louis, and Betsy Gotbaum, and Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez pushed the New York City Council to invest in a broad voter education and engagement program designed to increase familiarity with Ranked Choice Voting and civic life.

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Last year, New York City voters successfully used Ranked Choice Voting, selecting their top 5 candidates in order of preference. RCV delivered on its promise to elect more women and BIPOC lawmakers. By eliminating vote splitting and incentivizing positive, substance-based campaigns, ranked choice voting helped drive the first majority female City Council, 83% of whom are women of color. New Yorkers, who 74% voted in favor of ranked choice voting in 2019 also reported an overwhelmingly positive experience: 95% of voters found their ballot simple to complete, and 83% of voters ranked at least two candidates. According to a Fairvote study (attached), Black voters were more likely to rank in the Public Advocate and Comptroller races.

Next year every member of the City Council will be up for re-election, and a new group of voters including green card holders will be casting their ballots for the first time. RCV education is essential to make sure that all New Yorkers are fully equipped to vote in 2023. Rank the Vote NYC is asking the City Council for a 4 year budget commitment of a minimum of $4 Million a year to educate New Yorkers through multilingual, multi-borough programs about civic engagement with a focus on ranked choice voting. The money would go to local groups who would do the outreach and education on the ground.

Rank the Vote NYC is a coalition made up of nonprofits and individuals dedicated to educating New Yorkers about ranked choice voting and the benefits of civic participation. Melissa Mark-Viverito, former Speaker of the City Council and Bill Chong, former DYCD commissioner are joining the Rank the Vote NYC Board to help spearhead education efforts in 2023.

"Last year, New Yorkers successfully voted in the largest ranked choice voting election in U.S. history. Now, as we look ahead to the next local elections, we want to guarantee that all voters take advantage of our new voting system. That's why we're asking the NYC Council to put their money behind their words and invest in ranked choice voting education and civic engagement. We are thrilled to welcome Melissa Mark-Viverito and Bill Chong to the Rank the Vote board and look forward to educating all New Yorkers about the benefits of Ranked Choice Voting," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.

"Last year, New York City used Ranked Choice Voting for the first time, and embraced this new system. Not only did the overwhelming majority of voters find the new system easy to navigate, but it also led to a more diverse pool of candidates and helped more women and people of color win. With the electorate expanding for 2023 as noncitizens will be able to vote in municipal elections for the first time, we are calling on the City Council to build on this success, and fund necessary voter education and engagement efforts," said Betsy Gotbaum, executive director of Citizens Union.

"As recent world events have shown, we can't take democracy for granted. This initiative will invest much needed resources to ensure that immigrant New Yorkers and young people who have faced unprecedented challenges during the last two years can fully participate in the political process," said Bill Chong, former Department of Youth and Community Development Commissioner.

"Ranked Choice Voting helped elect the most diverse class of City Council in history. It's critical that all voters, new and old, know how to use the voting system and are involved in civic life. With an investment from the City Council, Rank the Vote NYC and other nonprofits can do meaningful work and empower communities that have been historically left out of conversations. A budget line is a commitment to New York's values and a downpayment on our democratic future," said Melissa Mark-Viverto, former Speaker of the City Council.

BACKGROUND:

Exit polling conducted by Edison Research during early voting and on Election Day in 2021 confirmed the enthusiasm:

New Yorkers embraced Ranked Choice Voting at the ballot box.

• 83% of voters ranked at least two candidates on their ballots in the mayoral primary. The majority of those who opted not to rank did so because they only had one preferred candidate.
  • 72% of voters ranked three or more candidates.
  • 42% of voters maximized their newfound power and ranked five candidates.
• New Yorkers found Ranked Choice Voting easy to use.
  • 95% of voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 78% of New Yorkers said they understood Ranked Choice Voting extremely or very well.
• New Yorkers want Ranked Choice Voting in future elections.
  • 77% of New Yorkers want Ranked Choice Voting in future local elections.
• There was little variability between ethnic groups' understanding of ranked choice voting:
  • 77% of Black voters said they understood ranked choice voting
  • 80% of Hispanic voters said they understood ranked choice voting
  • 77% of Asian voters said they understood ranked choice voting
  • 81% of white voters said they understood ranked choice voting
• New Yorkers across ethnic groups found their ballots simple to complete:
  • 93% of Black voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 95% of Hispanic voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 97% of Asian voters found their ballot simple to complete