New Yorkers Could Rank Choices For Mayor Under This Plan

NEW YORK, NY — New York City voters can only make one choice at a time in local elections. But some advocates — including three potential candidates for mayor — want to let voters rank their picks to boost turnout and save money.

A group of electoral reform activists and elected officials on Tuesday called on a panel that's currently reviewing the City Charter to put a so-called instant runoff voting proposal up for a public vote this November.

The system, also known as ranked choice voting, would make the city's elections more democratic by encouraging candidates to reach out to more voters, supporters argue. Fifteen U.S. cities already use the method.

"It is clear that instant runoff voting increases democracy for all voters and for the voices of communities of color," said Rob Richie, the executive director of FairVote, a nationwide electoral reform group. "The voters electing their leaders will be more reflective of the city’s racial and ethnic makeup because older, whiter and wealthier voters are more dominant in the old-fashioned, delayed runoffs."

Instant runoff voting would let New Yorkers pick their first choice for each elected office and rank the remaining candidates in order of preference. A candidate who wins more than half the first-choice votes would win the race.

But if there's not a clear winner, only the top two vote-getters would move on to a second count of the votes. Votes initially cast for eliminated candidates would go to the finalist in the instant runoff whom those voters ranked next on their ballots.

That would prevent voters from having to go to the polls again in expensive, low-turnout runoff elections. The 2013 Democratic primary runoff for public advocate, for instance, cost the city $13 million and only drew 6.9 percent of eligible voters, according to FairVote.

Among the officials backing the idea are Public Advocate Letitia James (who won that 2013 runoff), City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams. The three Democrats are reportedly considering bids for mayor in 2021.

They and others called on Mayor Bill de Blasio's Charter Revision Commission to get behind instant runoff voting. The Democratic mayor fully empaneled the commission last month to consider changes to the City Charter with a focus on campaign finance and election reforms.

"We have a golden opportunity to implement electoral reforms that expand engagement in our democracy, particularly in communities who have historically faced underrepresentation," Adams said in a statement.

De Blasio's Charter Revision Commission — which includes several donors to his campaigns, according to the New York Post — can propose changes to the city's governing document later this year on which New Yorkers would then vote.

The commission held its first meeting last week to hear public feedback about the charter. The meetings will continue into next week, with the next one scheduled for 6 p.m. Thursday at the Queens Library in Flushing.

"The Commission is reviewing the entire City Charter and welcomes ideas from all New Yorkers on how to improve city government and the electoral process," Matt Gewolb, the commission's counsel and executive director, said in a statement.

The mayor's commission isn't the only one in town. De Blasio on Monday signed a City Council bill creating a second commission with members to be appointed by the mayor, Council speaker, public advocate, comptroller and the five borough presidents.

(Lead image: A voting station is pictured in Park Slope in November 2017. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)