What is Ranked Choice Voting?
Instead of picking just one candidate, RCV lets you rank multiple candidates in order of your preference: your 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on. In NYC primaries for city offices (like Mayor), you can rank up to 5 candidates.
How are the votes counted?
It happens in rounds:
- Round 1: All 1st-choice votes are counted. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the 1st-choice votes, they win! Simple as that.
- If No One Wins in Round 1: The candidate with the fewest 1st-choice votes is eliminated.
- Vote Redistribution: If your 1st-choice was eliminated, your vote doesn't disappear! It instantly goes to your next highest-ranked choice on your ballot who is still in the running.
- Repeat: This process repeats – lowest candidate eliminated, their votes transferred to the voters' next choices – until one candidate reaches more than 50% among the remaining candidates.
Think of it like this: Your vote stays active for your highest-ranked candidate who hasn't been eliminated.
How should I rank my choices?
This is the most important part for you as a voter:
- Rank in order of actual preference: Put your favorite candidate as #1, your 2nd favorite as #2, etc. Lower-ranked choices never hurt higher ones; the only count if the higher ones are eliminated.
- Filling more spots makes your vote more likely to count: Your vote stays active as long as you have candidates left on your ballot. For example: if you only rank 2 candidates but both are eliminated by Round 3, your ballot will no longer count in Round 4 and beyond. Only leave spots empty if you strongly oppose the remaining candidates.
- Consider ranking similar candidates: If several candidates share your values, rank them all (in your preferred order). This increases the chance someone aligned with your views will win.
- Do I need to vote tactically? Mostly no; RCV is meant to reduce the need for strategic voting. See below for when it might matter.