It's Time to Change the Way NYC Votes

NEW YORK, NY (02/28/2019) (readMedia)-- FYI: On Monday, Suan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY, testified at the 2019 NYC Charter Revision Commission, Expert Forum on Elections in support of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), which allows voters to rank their top five choices on the ballot, instead of selecting one. The Charter is currently reviewing proposals for the November ballot.

Ranked Choice Voting:

• encourages candidates to campaign outside their base group of supporters, breaking down the barriers between communities.
• allows voters to vote for their true first choice without having to settle for the "lesser of two evils."
• eliminates the cost of run-off elections when there is no candidate who garners 40% or more of the primary vote.

Lerner's testimony is attached.

Yesterday, Lerner penned an op-ed in the Daily News, arguing Ranked Choice Voting would have changed the way candidates campaigned in the recent public advocate election.