NYC Election Timeline: When to Expect Results

NEW YORK, NY (05/26/2021) (readMedia)-- Because of New York State laws that prioritize voter enfranchisement and ensure all ballots are received before official results are finalized and announced, New Yorkers can expect to learn the results of the 2021 primary election around mid-July. This timeline is standard for elections in New York, and is not prolonged by ranked choice voting (RCV).

Results on Election night will reflect all in-person votes cast during the early voting period and on Election Day itself. Per New York State Law, absentee, affidavit, and military ballots will start to be counted on June 29, one week after Election Day. That's also when election workers will begin notifying voters of the chance to correct "curable defects'' with these last received absentee ballots, with corrections due no later than July 9. The process of RCV round by round tabulation for citywide and City Council races will begin the week of July 12.

With RCV, if no candidate receives 50 percent of the vote, counting in rounds are required. Votes are redistributed round by round and a winner is chosen with a majority of support. On Tuesday, the NYC Board of Elections approved the RCV Universal Tabulator, a safe and secure software that will allow ranked choice votes to be tabulated quickly.

"Democracy takes time, and every vote counts. Accurate and fair election results are worth waiting for," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY. "One of the many benefits to ranked choice voting is that it negates the need for multi-million dollar run-off elections, which usually take place 2-3 weeks later. Even if no one clears 50% on Election Day, we'll get the results in a comparable amount of time with none of the additional cost or diminished turn out."

RCV allows voters the opportunity to rank up to five candidates in order of preference, or vote for just one like they always have. If no one wins with more than 50 percent of first-choice votes, the candidate that came in last is eliminated and their voters' second choice votes are counted. This process repeats until there's a majority winner. Voters overwhelmingly passed RCV in the fall of 2019, with 74 percent of the vote.

In exit polling from the special elections earlier this year, 95 percent of voters stated they found the RCV ballot simple to fill out, and 75 percent of voters stated they were familiar with RCV prior to arriving at the polls. A majority of voters took advantage of the new voting system, ranking more than one candidate. Additionally, there was no statistically meaningful difference between ethnic groups' understanding of RCV. New Yorkers are prepared and ready to rank their vote.