Rep. Torres, Rank the Vote NYC, Advocates Rally for Ranked Choice Voting with Voting Underway in CD15

NEW YORK, NY (03/22/2021) (readMedia)-- U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres, Rank the Vote NYC, Dominicanos USA, the Bronx Chapter of the NAACP and Mothers on the Move rallied outside of a poll site in Council District 15 for Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) on Monday to inform voters about the new voting method. Voters in Council District 15 are currently ranking their ballots for the special election to fill Rep. Torres's former seat.

Video of Press Conference Available Here.

Ranked Choice Voting is a voting system that gives voters the opportunity to either rank as many as 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 eliminated and voters' second choice votes get counted and so on until there's a majority winner.

"Rank the Vote NYC has been doing the work of educating New Yorkers and Bronxites are ready to rank their votes. We're excited to stand here today with Congressmember Torres and our partners in the Bronx to encourage New Yorkers to take advantage of the options RCV gives voters and rank their ballots," said Luke Hayes, campaign manager for Rank the Vote NYC.

Rep. Torres has introduced an amendment to H.R. 1, "For the People Act of 2021," to require the GAO to conduct a study on the implementation and impact of Ranked Choice Voting in States and localities to find a model for Federal elections nationwide.

"Ranked choice voting allows for greater participation and civic engagement in the Democratic process. I'm proud to have sponsored three amendments in the latest voting reform bill that will aim to expand ranked choice voting nationwide," said U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres.

"This Women's History Month, voters in the Bronx will participate in a new form of voting that's been proven to elect more women, candidates of color and first-time candidates. Ranked Choice Voting has the potential to usher in a new era in New York City politics and bring new voices to the table. I'm proud to stand with Congressmember Torres, Rank the Vote NYC, Dominicanos USA and the Bronx NAACP to encourage Bronxites to take advantage of the new choices and rank their ballots," said Wanda Salaman, executive director of Mothers on the Move.

"For over 100 years, the NAACP has played a central role in voter education and voter equality in the country. Now, we have a new way of voting in New York City called Ranked Choice Voting, which will help voters have more influence on who gets elected. We're excited to be here today encouraging Bronxites to rank their ballots as they vote in special elections," said Bronx Branch NAACP President Burke.

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.

In early March, Common Cause/NY and Rank the Vote NYC released an exit polling memo from the two Queens special elections in Council Districts 24 and 31. The polls were conducted by Edison Research, with a sample size of 635 in-person and absentee voters from a broad spectrum of ages, races, and education levels that reflect the demographics of the two districts. The poll reveals voters found the ballot simple to use, knew about ranked choice voting, and ranked their ballot.

Highlights include:

95.2% of voters stated they found the Ranked Choice Voting ballot simple to fill out

  • 80.2% found the ballot very simple to complete
  • 1.3% found the ballot very difficult to complete

Education efforts about Ranked Choice Voting done by Rank the Vote, candidates, the NYC Government and others are working

  • 74.7% of voters stated they were familiar with RCV prior to voting.
  • 13.2% of voters stated they were very unfamiliar with Ranked Choice Voting prior to voting.

A majority of voters took advantage of the new voting system, ranking more than one candidate

  • 61% of voters utilized the rankings on their ballot
  • 39% of voters only voted for one candidate
  • 31% ranked 5 candidates
  • 15% ranked 2 candidates
  • 8% ranked 3 candidates & 6% ranked 4 candidates

The majority of voters who did not rank did so because they only had one preferred candidate.

  • 78.7% of voters did not rank because they only had one preferred candidate.
  • 19.9% reported they did not rank because they didn't know enough about other candidates.
  • 3.4% did not rank because they didn't know they could rank.