Rank the Vote, NYC Council Candidates Launch RCV Week of Action

Tiffany Caban, Amanda Farias, Sandy Nurse + candidates running in the same district are running forums, workshops about Ranked Choice Voting

NEW YORK, NY (01/25/2021) (readMedia)-- As voters in Council District 24 head to the polls for the first Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) election in New York City, a dozen candidates running for New York City Council across the five boroughs launched a Ranked Choice Voting Week of Action with Rank the Vote NYC to educate voters on the new voting method. The candidates, including some who are running for the same seat, will hold forums and workshops, table at subway stations, and more, all this week to inform voters about the new way to vote.

WATCH the press conference here.

Week of Action Schedule

  • Monday: Pierina Sanchez - CD14 will host a train the trainer event for volunteers in CD14 to learn how to talk to their neighbors about RCV at 8 p.m.
  • Tuesday: Women running in CD 33 will co-host a RCV training (Elizabeth Adams, April Somboun, Sabrina Gates, and Victoria Cambranes)
  • Wednesday: Lincoln Restler is hosting a Train the Trainer event led by Rank The Vote NYC's former Field Director Kicy Motley for residents in CD33 to learn how to talk to their neighbors about RCV at 7 p.m.
  • Thursday: Crystal Hudson - CD-35 are hosting a RCV event with Althea Stevens CD -16, Shahana Hanif CD-39, Amanda Farias CD-18, and Felicia Singh CD-32, Community Voices Heard Power, and Common Cause at 6 p.m.
  • Thursday: Sandy Nurse - CD37 and Jennifer Gutierrez - CD34 are hosting a RCV event with Churches United for Fair Housing (CUFFH) from 7 p.m. - 8 p.m.
  • Thursday: Tiffany Cabán tabling by the Subway at Ditmars to talk to voters about RCV and to promote our digital RCV training the next day at 5:30 p.m.
  • Thursday: At 8 p.m. Aleda Gagarin will be hosting a Community RCV Workshop with Jesse Cerrotti on Zoom, open to all New Yorkers who want to learn more about RCV aledaforcouncil.com/rcvworkshop
  • Thursday: At 8 p.m., Shekar Krishnan will be hosting an "Everything You Need to Know About RCV" community discussion. It will be in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Nepali, and Bengali. This will be part of the campaign's weekly series of Thursday community town halls called "Shake It Up with Shekar."
  • Friday: Sara Lind and Jeffrey Omura - both running in CD06 - co-host an RCV training and Drag Queen Happy Hour from 6:30-7:30 p.m.
  • Friday: Tiffany Cabán will host a Ranked Choice Voting training for volunteers and constituents led by District Leaders Zachariah Boyer and Shawna Morlock at 5:30 p.m.

RCV allows voters the opportunity to either rank up to five candidates in order of preference or vote for just one like they always have. 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 74 percent of the vote.

Tiffany Cabán, candidate for New York City Council District 22, said, "The traditional system of politics is designed to keep out working class and first-time candidates -- especially people of color and queer folks. Ranked choice voting gives candidates with both bold ideas and the shared lived experiences of marginalized communities the space to run. It gives us the opportunity to transform our political possibilities. I'm looking forward to throwing down with my fellow candidates and helping spread awareness about RCV in our communities."

Pierina Sanchez, candidate for New York City Council District 14 said, "Far too often women of color are told we need to 'wait our turn' to run for office, and reforms like Ranked Choice Voting help push back on that narrative and open opportunities for us to run. I am excited that New York City will have RCV, and I am excited to continue to educate my neighbors on how it works this week and in the months ahead."

Sandy Nurse, candidate for New York City Council District 37 said, "Ranked-choice voting is going to help level the playing field for leftist women of color running for office across this City. RCV is good for democracy: it encourages candidates to talk to everyone, instead of just engaging with our base. I am so proud to see so many candidates participate in this Week of Action to ensure our communities know how the system works, and how it's going to change New York City politics for the better."

Stacy Lynch, candidate for New York City Council District 37 said, "I'm proud to partner with Rank the Vote NYC and my colleagues in the race for City Council, to support voter education on the new Rank Choice Voting system, and I am encouraged by this collective push to bring our constituents the vital information needed to cast a well-informed vote.

Amit Singh Bagga, candidate for New York City Council District 26 said, "If you believe Twitter should matter less and a clearly-articulated policy vision (sped along by friendly, and not nasty, competition) should matter more, then Ranked Choice Voting is your preferred choice of voting methods. We've gotten a lot of Big Money out of our politics with our bar-setting matching funds program; now, we're going to be able to put Big Ideas at the heart of how we make our cases through Ranked Choice."

Shahana Hanif, candidate for New York City Council District 39 said, "Ranked Choice Voting is essential to achieving fairer electoral democracy, and I am proud of New York City for taking this important step. RCV is particularly important to me because it allows first time and women of color candidates to feel confident enough to run for office. RCV allows non-establishment candidates like myself to not be pushed to the side or viewed as a waste of a vote. RCV is pro-women and pro-people of color. In NYC's crowded primaries, RCV encourages coalition building with the voters we contact to the campaigns we build out. We need to strengthen positive coalition politics to achieve a multiracial democracy."

Amanda Farías, candidate for New York City Council District 18 said, "For someone like me; a woman, a Bronxite, and a Latina - Ranked Choice Voting can be transformative. That's why we need to commit to educating our communities on our new voting system. The best way for us to ensure our communities are informed is through each of us doing our part - the city, advocacy orgs and neighbors stepping up to reach every voter."

Lincoln Restler, candidate for New York City Council District 33 said, "New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted in Ranked Choice Voting because it will deepen our democracy and elevate the power of every voter. But now every voter needs to understand how RCV actually works. I am eager to roll up my sleeves and use our campaign operation to educate our neighbors about RCV."

Aleda Gagarin, candidate for New York City Council District 26 said, "I'm thrilled to take part in the #RCVWeekofAction to make sure that my community has the opportunity to learn how Ranked Choice Voting works and how it strengthens our democracy. RCV was passed with overwhelming support by New York voters who want, and deserve, to be fully heard. We are committed to ensuring that our neighbors have the tools they need to vote with confidence."

Brandon West, candidate for New York City Council District 39 said, "I worked hard to get RCV passed on the ballot because I knew it would help expand our local democracy and make it easier for BIPOC communities to run for office. I'm excited to use RCV and excited to modernize our elections."

"Since voters chose to adopt Ranked Choice Voting, we have trained hundreds of campaigns and organizations, reaching tens of thousands of New York City voters. In the coming days and months our efforts will only be ramped up to ensure every voter in the city knows how to have their voice heard through RCV," said Sean Dugar, Education Campaign Program Director at Rank the Vote NYC.

Chi Ossé, candidate for New York City Council District 36 said, "Beginning this February, New Yorkers will no longer be governed by candidates garnering support from less than half of their voting constituents. RCV encourages compromise and coalition building, and promises broader support for elected representatives. It is also less intuitive than conventional elections and requires some explaining. Unfortunately, on promoting the new system and explaining it to voters, the City is dropping the ball. Not nearly enough resources are devoted to teaching the public how RCV works, or even that RCV exists in our city at all. This is placing the onus on civic organizations and candidates for office to convey this necessary information. We all deserve to have our voices heard. With RCV, you get to be represented by your elected, even if they weren't your first choice. We candidates can build consensus, reduce polarization, and and focus on ALL constituents, not just trying to win a specific demographic. Elections are competitions to win votes, but democracy is a daily exercise in civic engagement and mutual assistance."

Mino Lora, City Council Candidate for the Bronx in District 11 said, "I'm excited to be on the ballot for the Special Election on March 23rd, which will be one of the first in NYC to include ranked choice voting. This, during such a pivotal time for the Bronx, is an opportunity to increase voter participation, make campaigns more positive, and save resources by avoiding runoffs."

Jaslin Kaur, candidate for New York City Council District 26 said, "Ranked choice voting will usher in a new kind of democracy to New York City where our votes can shift political representation. But we need clear, consistent voter education efforts and I am excited to commit to this week of action that will help introduce and maintain a more democratic voting system."

Michael Hollingsworth, candidate for New York City Council District 35 said, "Ranked choice voting let's us have more say over who represents us in the halls of power. That's why it's been so disappointing to see many elected officials working against democracy, just to protect their own interests. But we aren't going to sit by and let that happen--we'll be calling voters to educate them about the system and answer questions they have about ranked choice."

Marjorie Velazquez, candidate for New York City Council District 13 said, "In 2017, my district saw firsthand that a candidate could win an election with less than 50% of the vote in both the primary and the general. Now with Ranked Choice Voting, we can finally say goodbye to the old way of elections and encourage more diversity in candidates. Real, diverse representation is needed now more than ever, and ranked choice voting will deliver that."

Crystal Hudson, candidate for New York City Council District 35 said, "Ranked Choice Voting will make our democracy more fair and diverse, giving queer Black women like me a fair shot at holding elected office. I'm excited to join RCV Week of Action to spread the word about RCV and ensure all New Yorkers know how easy it is to rank candidates on their ballot."

Sara Lind, candidate for New York City Council District 6 said, "I'm so proud that New York City is going to honor a majority democracy with Ranked Choice Voting. I worked hard on this initiative with Common Cause because RCV is proven to open opportunities to a more diverse field of candidates to serve in elected office. We're already seeing it here in New York, new leaders have thrown their hat in the ring to compete against longtime incumbents giving voters a new generation of choice."

Harold Miller, candidate for New York City Council District 27, said, "I'm Excited to participate in the Ranked Choice Voting Week of Action where we have an opportunity to further educate New Yorkers about the power of their vote. Ranked Choice Voting also encourages candidates to campaign in all parts of the district, so marginalized members of our community will have a greater voice."

Rank the Vote NYC has held dozeneas of training sessions throughout the five boroughs about ranked choice voting, how it works, and its impact on elections. The trainings have ranged from ones specifically for women of color to civil service and labor to good government to specifically voters in Council District 24. Rank the Vote NY has partnered with local political clubs including Four Freedoms Democratic Club and Lambda Independent Democrats, as well as The Black Institute and NALEO Educational Fund to name a few. So far over 500 candidates, staff, and partners have participated. Trainings remain ongoing.