Last Tuesday, more than one million New Yorkers showed up to vote in the Democratic primaries, which uses a ranked choice voting system – and it was a huge success!

All eyes were on the mayoral primary, where 11 candidates were all vying for the nomination. In a race that crowded, it’s usually hard to vote for who you really like without worrying about who can actually win. But with ranked choice voting, New York’s voters have more voice and more choice.

And this year, candidates in New York City’s primary took full advantage of Ranked Choice Voting. Whether it was Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander’s headline-grabbing alliance on the campaign trail or the Working Families Party’s endorsement of four different candidates, we saw a new coalition politics that put issues and voters first, and is exactly what ranked choice voting is meant to encourage.

In this post, we’ll explain how ranked choice voting works and what went right in this historic election.

What is ranked choice voting?

Ranked choice voting is a different kind of ballot that gives voters more voice and more choice. 

New York City voters adopted RCV because they wanted a change from crowded primaries that forced them to choose between the lesser of two evils every election.

Instead of picking just one candidate, voters can rank their favorites up to five candidates or just vote for one if they prefer: 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, and so on.

Here’s how it works:

• 1st choice votes are tallied, and if no one gets a majority of 1st choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. 
• If your first choice candidate is out, then your vote goes to your next highest choice.
• The process continues until there are just two candidates left and the remaining candidate with the most votes – usually a cumulative majority – wins. 

That means you can vote for the candidate you support the most – even if they are unlikely to win – while still being able to support other candidates based on your preferences.

Working Together, Not Just Against Each Other

In most elections, candidates stick to their own base and compete fiercely with their opponents. But ranked choice voting changes the rules of the game, for the better.

Because voters can support more than one candidate, ranked choice voting gives elected leaders and organizations the freedom to endorse multiple candidates they believe in. This year, several major figures and groups did just that. Some unions, community organizations, and Democratic politicians, like Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, shared how they’d rank their top picks, not just their #1 choice.

Ranked choice voting also encourages candidates to be more collaborative. Since earning second- and third-choice votes can make the difference in a close race, candidates often find themselves looking for common ground, not just contrasts. We saw that clearly in this election, when mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Brad Lander endorsed each other as their second choices. Other candidates joined forces too, and some even held joint events or fundraised for one another.

This new coalition politics is refreshing and important. At a time when political discourse is often tense and divisive, especially around issues of race, religion, and identity, ranked choice voting made space for mutual respect and coalition-building this election cycle. It shows that in a city as diverse as New York, politicians can disagree, compete, and still work together toward shared goals.

What went right in this election?

This was the largest and most diverse ranked choice voting election in our nation’s history, and there were a lot of big successes.

• Over 1.1 million people cast a ballot in the Democratic primary.
• More than twice as many people voted early compared to 2021.
• Ranked choice voting was incredibly popular: 85% of people reported ranking more than one candidate, and 77% said that they want ranked choice voting in future local elections.

Common Cause NY and Fair Vote ran an exit poll this election and results overwhelming confirm how popular Ranked Choice Voting is. Among the 991 New Yorkers that we sampled from, 96% said their ballot was simple to complete — including at least 94% of each racial group surveyed. That’s a testament to the education efforts from advocates and campaigns to prepare voters. 

Voters also understood the system very well. 81% say they understand RCV extremely or very well, with another 16% saying they understand it somewhat well. That means just 3% of New Yorkers said they do not understand the system well. 

And while we want that number to be zero, it’s far lower than what some folks worried would happen when we introduced RCV. 

A vast majority of voters also actually used the system to rank their preferences. 82% say they ranked two or more candidates for mayor, with 45% reporting that they ranked five. 

These voters were clear about why they ranked, too. Among voters who ranked 2 or more candidates, 58% say “ranking allowed me to vote for candidates who aligned with my values.” Among voters who ranked only one, 87% said it was because “that was the only candidate I liked.” 

New Yorkers across ethnic groups found their ballots simple to complete.

• 95% of Black voters found their ballot simple to complete.
• 97% of Hispanic voters found their ballot simple to complete.
• 94% of Asian voters found their ballot simple to complete.
• 97% of white voters found their ballot simple to complete.

And it also held true across age demographics:

According to the poll, 67% of voters ages 18-34 and 65+ ranked three or more candidates. 72% of voters ages 35-49 and 71% of voters ages 50-64 ranked three or more candidates. 

There are still problems that need to be addressed, like the nearly $50 million of PAC spending this cycle, but overall, New York City’s ranked choice voting has proven what we know to be true: ranked choice voting works. It makes elections fairer and more representative.

Common Cause Helped Make This Happen

At Common Cause, we helped lead the campaign to bring ranked choice voting to NYC back in 2019. We’ve also been working to make elections more accessible, advocating for reforms like expanding vote by mail and allowing 16 and 17 year-olds to pre-register to vote. 

We’re so proud to see those efforts pay off, and excited to keep pushing for a democracy that puts people first.