On RCV E-day, Common Cause/NY, Chhaya, & CPC Lay Out What to Expect

NEW YORK, NY (02/02/2021) (readMedia)-- Today, on the first Ranked Choice Voting Election Day in New York City, Common Cause/NY, Rank the Vote NYC, Chhaya Community Development Corporation and the Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC) held a press conference call to lay out what happens after polls close, as well as to discuss Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) education efforts in the district.

WATCH the briefing here.

After polls close tonight, the Board of Elections (BOE) will announce the first choice results of all early and election day voters only. No Ranked Choice Voting rounds will be run yet, as every ballot must be counted before this can happen. In about two weeks, per election law, after the BOE has received all military and absentee ballots, the Board will finish counting all the ballots. If no one wins with a majority (more than 50 percent), the candidate that came in last is defeated and voters' second choice votes get counted and so on until the top vote-getter of the final two is declared the winner.

RCV will apply to primaries and special elections for all local offices including City Council, Borough President, Comptroller, Public Advocate and Mayor. Voters overwhelmingly passed RCV in the fall of 2019, with nearly 74 percent of the vote.

"Voters in Council District 24 should be prepared to wait for results due to the requirement of state election law that provides a waiting period for the receipt of military and absentee ballots. The BOE can and must count every ballot carefully. Ranked Choice Voting doesn't impact the length of the state law required waiting period," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY and Board Chair of Rank the Vote NYC.

Janggo Mahmud, Queens Organizer at Rank the Vote NYC said, "Each day I speak with voters in Council District 24 - some even in my mother tongue, Bangla - about the pro voter benefits of Ranked Choice Voting. Rank the Vote has hosted dozens of forums, candidate and voter trainings, as well sent informational mailers to voters. Voters understand that Ranked Choice Voting gives them more choice and more voice, while putting power back in the hands of the people where it belongs. Queens voters are ready to rank!"

"We've been working in civic engagement for the last two decades, and we know that for too long our communities have been sidestepped and ignored when it comes to New York City politics. Ranked Choice Voting is the only option we see at Chhaya that can ensure that when multiple people from similar backgrounds run, there's a possibility one of them can win. We've been out there hitting the ground and working with tenant associations in Jamaica to spread the word on RCV. We're not stopping here: We have another special election coming up this month. We want to make sure that before any voters go to cast their vote, they not only understand RCV, they understand why it's important," said Jagpreet Singh, lead organizer at Chhaya Community Development Corporation.

"A lot of political newcomers have shown up because of Ranked Choice Voting. I've been talking to voters within my constituencies, making sure they understand RCV. There's a lot of work to do to engage community members to vote, but this is how democracy should work, and I thank everyone who pushed RCV. This is a really exciting time for New York City," said Howard Wong, civic engagement manager at Chinese-American Planning Council.

Rank the Vote NYC and Common Cause/NY conducted a variety of voter education efforts in Council District 24 to spread the word on RCV. Rank the Vote NYC partnered with the Queens Public Library, the Queens Daily Eagle and local elected officials to produce forums, trainings and panels with candidates. Efforts in Council District 24 included printed materials, all of which are multilingual, adapted in collaboration with our partners in the disability rights community and have large print versions. So far, our materials have been translated into Spanish, Bengla, Haitian Creole, Korean, Russian, Nepali, and Chinese (traditional & simplified).

In the last month alone, Rank the Vote NYC has done over 30 trainings with community groups, campaigns, and elected officials like Assembly Members Nily Rozic and Daniel Rosenthal, and Congresswoman Grace Meng. Since the summer, the group has reached thousands of voters across the city.

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.