Ranked Choice Voting is Back! Here's What To Expect from Today's RCV Special Election in Brooklyn

BROOKLYN, NY (03/25/2025) (readMedia)-- Today is Election Day in New York City's 44th Council District, and will be the first election this year to use ranked choice voting. Council District 44 includes Gravesend, Sunset Park (East) Borough Park, Mapleton, Midwood, and Homecrest. Only voters who live within the district, regardless of their registered party, can vote for their new representative. Find your poll site In NYC or Outside of NYC here.

"Today, voters across South Brooklyn will head to the polls for the first ranked choice voting election of the year! If any voter runs into any problem on the way to vote or at the polls, they should report it to 1-866-OURVOTE where nonpartisan legal personnel are available to answer questions throughout the day and night," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause New York. "Our ranked choice system will tabulate the votes quickly, but democracy takes time and every vote counts, which means final results will not be available the same day. Accurate and fair election results are worth waiting for."

Since 2021, all New York City primaries and special elections for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, Borough President and City Council use ranked-choice voting. Here's how it works and what to expect:

• Instead of voting for just one candidate, New Yorkers are now able to rank their top 5 candidates from first to last choice on the ballot. If voters still want to vote for just one candidate, they still can!
• A candidate who collects a majority of the vote, fifty percent plus one, wins. If no candidate receives over 50 percent of the first choice preferences, the candidate with the fewest first choice preferences is eliminated and voters who ranked that candidate first have their ballots instantly counted for their second choice preference. The process is repeated until there's a final pair with a majority winner.
• Ranked choice voting changes our elections because it forces candidates to compete everywhere and pay attention to every community.
• Ranked choice voting also gives voters more impact and say, ensures candidates win with a clear majority instead of a plurality, and saves the City money by avoiding costly runoffs.

In June 2021, nearly one million New Yorkers made history by voting in the largest and most diverse Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) election in the country. Voters embraced RCV, with 83% of voters ranking at least two candidates on their ballots in the mayoral primary. Read more about New Yorkers' support for ranked choice voting here.

Before heading to the polls, Common Cause/NY encourages all voters to familiarize themselves with their rights, and to report any misconduct to 886-OUR-VOTE, a national election protection hotline. Here's what to know:

• Our election system is safe and secure.
• Polling sites are open 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM on Election Day. Do not leave your poll site without casting your ballot, whether that means placing it into a scanner or voting by affidavit ballot (also known as a provisional ballot)!
• When in doubt, call 1-866-OURVOTE: a free hotline of legal personnel can talk you through it from 7 am to 8 pm. Spanish, Arabic and Asian languages support are also available via the Election Protection website.
• You have the right to vote free of harassment. No matter who asks, you never need to show an ID in order to vote if you've voted in New York before. If someone asks for your ID, no matter who it is, simply let them know that you are not required to show ID in New York, except in limited circumstances for first time voters.
• Due to a change in election law, New Yorkers can no longer cast a ballot on a voting machine if they have been sent an absentee or vote by mail ballot and then decide to vote in-person. Voters will be directed to vote via affidavit ballot instead.
• Once polls close, voters can expect to know the final results in the next few days. Election night results will include all ballots cast on Election Day and during early voting, as well as valid absentee and vote by mail ballots that have been received throughout early voting.
• However, election night results are not complete.
• The deadline for receipt of absentee and vote by mail ballots mailed and postmarked no later than March 25th is Tuesday, April 1st and these ballots will continue to be counted as they are received. Until the results are final, we caution against candidates declaring victory too early in close races.