ICYMI: FORUM: What Ranked Choice Voting Means for Voters w/ the Queens Public Library + Others

NEW YORK, NY (01/22/2021) (readMedia)-- Queens Borough Public Library hosted a virtual forum on ranked choice voting (RCV) for voters on Jan. 19 in partnership with Rank the Vote NYC, the NYU McSilver Institute, Chhaya, Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC), MinKwon and the Northeast Queens Chapter of the NAACP. The event was moderated by Dennis Walcott, President and CEO of Queens Borough Public Library. Rose Pierre-Louis, Chief Operating Officer of the NYU McSilver Institute, Jagpreet Singh, Leader Organizer of Chhaya Community Development Corporation, Howard Wong, Civic Engagement Manager of CPC, Kenneth Cohen, President of the Northeast Queens Chapter of the NAACP, and Sandra Choi, Civic Participation Manager at MinKwon participated in the panel discussion.

The panel discussed how RCV will modify or eliminate the "spoiler effect" and elect women and candidates of color and how RCV could lead to more positive, collaborative campaigning. The panel fielded questions on how RCV works from the audience.

WATCH the forum here.

Background

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.

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.

The 2019 campaign to bring Ranked Choice Voting to NYC was endorsed by: former Mayor David Dinkins (RIP), Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Congressman Jerry Nadler, Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Comptroller Scott Stringer, State Senator Alessandra Biaggi, State Senator Brad Hoylman, State Senator Robert Jackson, State Senator Brian Kavanagh, State Senator Liz Krueger, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, State Senator Jessica Ramos, State Senator Gustavo Rivera, State Senator Julia Salazar, State Senator James Sanders, Jr., State Senator Luis Sepúlveda, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz, Assembly Member Harvey Epstein, Assembly Member Ron Kim, Assembly Member Walter Mosley, Assembly Member Yuh-Line Niou, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal, Assembly Member David Weprin, Former NYC Mayor David Dinkins, Public Advocate Jumaane D. Williams, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Manhattan Borough President Gale A. Brewer, Council Member Costa Constantinides, Council Member Robert Cornegy, Jr., Council Member Rafael Espinal, Council Member Ben Kallos, Council Member Brad Lander, Council Member Stephen Levin, Council Member Mark Levine, Council Member Carlos Menchaca, Council Member Keith Powers, Council Member Antonio Reynoso, Council Member Carlina Rivera, Council Member Ydanis Rodriguez, Council Member Helen Rosenthal, Council Member Paul Vallone, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Zephyr Teachout, Cynthia Nixon, Bishop Orlando Findlayter, and Reverend Dr. Ray Blanchette.