NY Senate Bill Would Eliminate Primary Runoff

Around 7 percent of registered Democrats voted in the New York City primary runoff last week, in which Councilman John C. Liu of Queens won the party’s nomination for city comptroller and Councilman Bill de Blasio of Brooklyn won the nomination for public advocate.

With such low turnout, the roughly $15 million cost of the runoff meant that the election cost something like $72 per vote cast, according to State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr., a Queens Democrat who announced legislation on Monday to eliminate runoff elections in New York State. Mr. Addabbo’s bill comes after critics have questioned the need for the runoff system, which was created after a New York City mayoral primary 40 years ago.

Other options are “instant runoff,” in which primary voters cast indicate their top choices by ranking their top choices: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3. If no candidate received at least 40 percent of the No. 1 rankings, an instant runoff would take place between the top two vote-getters by allocating the ballots from the defeated candidates to whichever of the top two candidates was ranked next on that ballot. The candidate with more votes would win.

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Michael H. Drucker
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