RCV Advocates Condemn False Claims of Voter Suppression

NEW YORK, NY (06/21/2021) (readMedia)-- Responding to criticism of Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia campaigning together, several community organizations issued statements to push back against the notion that candidates campaigning together in a ranked choice election is anything but a legitimate strategy.

In a recent poll, 74% of respondents ranked more than one choice for mayor. Black voters -- more so than any other demographic -- used all five rankings.

Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY and Sean Dugar, Rank the Vote NYC's Education Campaign Director, issued the following statement: "There is nothing insidious or cynical about two candidates transparently using a legitimate strategy in a democratically approved system of election. Campaigning together, as Mr. Yang and Ms. Garcia are doing, is standard practise in places like San Francisco and Minneapolis both of which have ranked choice voting and elected their first Black woman Mayor and several Black transgender candidates to the City Council, respectively. Ranked choice voting incentivizes consensus building and collaboration to the ultimate benefit of the voters, and Mr. Adams himself has taken advantage of it to ask for #2 votes. Candidates should keep their criticism to the issues, rather than mischaracterizing a strategy that is available to all who choose to use it."

"Ranked choice voting has the potential to give Black voters more power at the ballot box by allowing them to select and rank candidates that address their concerns in order of preference," said Lurie Daniel Favors, Esq. Interim Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. "Any attempts to frame RCV as too complicated or discourage voters from fully exercising their rights to vote are wrong and harmful to our community. As proponents of justice through expanded voting rights, CLSJ urges all candidates, particularly those from our communities, to embrace ranked-choice voting and encourage New Yorkers to educate and empower themselves in order to employ our new voting system during the current primary. We are in an era when irresponsible commentary about the election process is poisoning the national conversation around voting and accessing the ballot. It is imperative that public servants - and those who seek positions to serve the public further - use this time to empower voters from traditionally marginalized communities and not stoop to negative campaigning that serves only as a distraction from civic engagement."

"Tomorrow is Election Day. It is New York's first citywide ranked choice voting election in which voters will decide our next generation of local leaders. We know that no matter our race, religion, or when we came to this country, most of us believe that for democracy to work for all of us, it must include us all. Ranked Choice Voting creates a more fair and inclusive democracy by giving voters more choice and power at the ballot box. In the final hours leading up to Election Day, we urge all candidates to prepare voters for this historic primary election instead of engaging in divisive campaigning that alienates voters." said Sandra Choi, Civic Participation Manager of MinKwon Center for Community Action.

Senator Zellnor Myrie tweeted:

"As the chair of the Elections committee in the NY Senate and author of 20+ election related bills, I think about voter suppression more than the average politician. To call RCV voter suppression, or compare it to a poll tax, is **incredibly** wrong and dangerous. Stop it."

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams also tweeted this morning:

"Rank choice voting is NOT voter suppression. Elections come & go while divisive hyperbolic energy lasts much longer."

Diversity and Representation in the Mayor's Race

Thanks to ranked choice voting, there are three candidates of color and two women in the top four of the mayoral race. Ranked choice voting radically alters who can be a leading contender by reducing pressure on candidates to drop out and avoid vote splitting.

• A new FairVote study proves this phenomenon: candidates pay no penalty when they run against opponents of the same race or ethnicity. For example, instead of dividing Black community support, Adams and Wiley can run against each other as serious contenders.
• Similarly, thanks to ranked choice voting, the city could elect its first woman mayor.
• This Ipsos poll, released today, shows Adams in the lead followed by Yang, Garcia, and Wiley.
• This Marist poll, released last week, shows Adams in the lead followed by Garcia, Wiley, and Yang.

Early Voters are Responding Well to RCV

From Southeast Queens to the Upper West Side to the Bronx, New Yorkers are ranking their vote without issue and with enthusiasm.

• The New York Times interviewed dozens of voters and found "that most voters were taking advantage of being able to rank up to five candidates out of the field of 13."
• Peter Karp in Brooklyn told the Times "'I'm very excited about the ranked voting,' he said. 'I feel like it's an ability to really vote for who closest aligns with your views without throwing your vote to the absolute opposite of that.'"
• Jose Morell in the Bronx told Gothamist "It was easy. It was very easy."
• Andrea Glenn, a Prospect Heights voter, told Politico "It makes you feel a little more at ease... If my person doesn't win, my second or third choice may still have the ability."
• And Reuben E. from St. Albans told Politico he "ranked Eric Adams first, followed by Yang, Wiley, McGuire and Shaun Donovan and praised the ranked-choice system for avoiding later runoff elections... 'I think it's great. It saves money, less aggravation and grief.'"

This tracks with last week's NY1/Ipsos poll, which found that 80% of voters are comfortable using ranked-choice voting. And in exit polling from the special elections earlier this year:

• 95 percent of voters stated they found the RCV ballot simple to fill out
• 75 percent of voters stated they were familiar with RCV prior to arriving at the polls
• 70% of voters took advantage of RCV and ranked more than one candidate
• There was no statistically meaningful difference between ethnic groups' understanding of RCV :
  • 94% of Black voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 97% of Asian voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 97% of Hispanic voters found their ballot simple to complete.
  • 97% of white voters found their ballot simple to complete.
• Out of the four special elections, voters in CD 15 - a majority Black and Latino district - ranked the most candidates.