ICYMI: Common Cause New York Testifies to Charter Review Commission On Potential Election Reforms

NEW YORK, NY (05/20/2025) (readMedia)-- Yesterday, Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner testified before the New York City Charter Review Commission (CRC). Lerner shared research from Common Cause New York into the opinions and demographics of the more than 3.1 million politically unaffiliated voters in New York State, including that these voters are highly engaged but dissatisfied with the current system. Lerner cautioned against any sudden changes to election law and urged the Commission to carefully consider all possible ways to better engage unaffiliated voters before changing the current voting system.

Read the full testimony attached.

In her testimony, Lerner praised the deliberate and thorough process by which advocates, candidates and City agencies collaborated to successfully introduce ranked choice voting to New York City primary elections.

She urged the Commission to take a similar approach before amending New York's primary laws, stating, "Changing New York City's primary system requires an equally detailed examination of the various options available and how they would function in New York City's election landscape and the requirements of New York State's detailed election law." Lerner continued: "At a minimum, the Commission should invite testimony from a range of viewpoints, based on experience with, and research into, the various forms of open and nonpartisan primaries."