With all Three of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Charter Revision Proposals was Approved by Voters by Wide Margins on Tuesday, eyes are now on the 2019 City Council Charter Revision Commission, possibly considering Issues that the Mayor’s Commission did not Act On.
Key among those is Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) and also known as Instant Runoff Voting, an Alternative Method of Voting wherein Voters Rank their Candidate Preferences rather than simply Voting for One. If No Candidate Wins the Required Percentage of the Vote on Initial Count, the Last Place Candidate is Eliminated, and the Second Preference of the Eliminated Candidate’s Voters receives those Votes. This continues until One Candidate secures the Required Percentage.
As of now, New York City only holds Runoffs for Citywide Positions: Mayor, Public Advocate, and Comptroller, and if No Candidate receives 40% of the Vote. Mayor Bill de Blasio narrowly avoided a Runoff in the 2013 Democratic Primary for Mayor, but there was one that year for Public Advocate. That Runoff, in the Democratic Primary between eventual Winner Letitia James and Daniel Squadron, led to heightened Calls for RCV, especially given the High Cost of the Runoff relative to the Budget of the Public Advocate’s Office.
Increasing Support from Elected Officials and among the Public led to RCV being considered and discussed by the 2018 Charter Commission; in its Final Report, the Commission said that it had received a “considerable volume of public comment about ranked choice voting.” In the end, the Commission demurred on RCV, arguing that more Research and Time were required and Recommending that a Future Commission tackle the Issue.
It may not take long. The 2019 City Council Commission, which has already met Six times, Twice in Manhattan and once each in the other Four Boroughs, and has a much longer Timeline on which to tackle Issues. It is expected to continue Deliberations, Solicit Online Feedback, and hold Hearings and Meetings throughout the first half of next year, with its Ballot Proposals likely Due by early September 2019.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D-3rd District), who got to name several Commissioner including the Chair, Gail Benjamin, testified at a recent Hearing in Favor of RCV, urging the Commission to look into it. De Blasio, meanwhile, singled out RCV when asked Press Availability what he would like the 2019 Commission to tackle, though he did Not Endorse the Idea outright. “There was a very vibrant discussion in this charter revision commission, for example, about ranked-choice voting,” the Mayor said. “For me, the jury’s still out on ranked-choice voting. I grew up with it in Massachusetts. I think it has strengths and I think it has weaknesses. And I’d sure like to see a lot more research on it. But there’s a lot of people who believe it might be very beneficial in New York City.”
Despite not taking an Affirmative Stance on the Issue, de Blasio’s answer is a Signal of his evolving position on RCV, according to Alex Camarda, Senior Policy Advisor at Reinvent Albany, a Good Government Group that Supports RCV. “I think it’s significant,” Camarda said. “I think what’s telling is we’ve now seen, in the last few months, the mayor last week and the Council speaker at the Manhattan charter revision commission hearing, both called on the commission to consider instant runoff voting, and ‘here are the different arguments for it.’ And I think that’s a signal to the commission that they should seriously look at this.”
“I think there’s a new openness to it on their parts that at least wasn’t public in the past,” he continued. “De Blasio in 2013 went on The Brian Lehrer Show and actually took a position against IRV, and said at the time that the starkness of two candidates in the runoff, he thought was clarifying for voters. So clearly, his position seems to have evolved.”
Aside from Good Government Groups, which almost uniformly Support It, RCV also has the Support of other Prominent City Elected Officials: along with Johnson, support comes from Comptroller Scott Stringer and Public Advocate James, who was Elected State Attorney General on Tuesday and in May called herself “the face of instant runoff” given her 2013 Race.
Advocates, including those in New York, note that RCV both makes Third Parties more Viable, by limiting the need for “Strategic voting”, and forces Candidates to Appeal beyond their Base, in the hope of attracting Voters as their Second Preference. RCV would also allow City Elections to Avoid costly, Low-Turnout Runoff Elections when No Candidate secures the Required Threshold of Votes.
“We think that enabling voters to rank candidates creates an environment where there's more substantive policy debate, and there’s less negativity in campaigning, because candidates have to appeal to second choice and even third choice votes,” Camarda said.
In 2013, the Runoff between James and Squadron was estimated to Cost about $13 Million, for a Position with a $2 Million Budget, in an Election with 6.5% Turnout. In a Report released the following year, the City’s Campaign Finance Board Recommended that New York City adopt RCV for Municipal Elections.
Advocates also Claim that RCV Increases Turnout, though Studies have been Conflicting on the matter. Some have Charged that it can be Confusing to Voters, Decreasing Turnout, and the Diversity of the Electorate. Turnout in San Francisco, the largest American city using RCV, has been generally Depressed since the Implementation of RCV, while in Minneapolis, the Results have been far more Promising.
City Using RCV Now:
Basalt, Colorado: Adopted in 2002 and will be used when Three or More Candidates Run for Mayor.
Berkeley, California: Adopted in 2004 and has been used since 2010 to Elect the Mayor, City Council, and City Auditor.
Cambridge, Massachusetts: In use since the 1940s in Multi-Winner RCV form for the Nine Seat City Council and Six Seat School Board Elected Citywide.
Carbondale, Colorado: Adopted in 2002 for Mayor when there are Three or More Candidates.
Minneapolis, Minnesota: Adopted in 2006 and Used since 2009, in Elections for 22 City Offices, including Mayor and City Council in Single Winner Elections and some Multi-Winner Park Board Seats.
Oakland, California: Adopted in 2006 and Used since 2010 for a Total of 18 City Offices, including Mayor and City Council.
Portland, Maine: Adopted in 2010 and Used in 2011 and 2015 for Electing Mayor.
Maine: Adopted in 2016 and Used in June 2018 for All State and Federal Primary Elections.
San Francisco, California: Adopted in 2002 and Used since 2004 to Elect the Mayor, City Attorney, Board of Supervisors, and Five Additional Citywide Offices.
San Leandro, California: Adopted as Option in 2000 Charter Amendment and Used since 2010 to Elect the Mayor and City Council.
Santa Fe, New Mexico: Adopted in 2008 and Used since March 2018 for Mayor, City Council, and Municipal Judge.
St. Paul, Minnesota: Adopted in 2009, Used since 2011 to Elect the Mayor and City Council.
Takoma Park, Maryland: Adopted in 2006 and Used since 2007 in All Elections for Mayor and city Council.
Telluride, Colorado: Adopted in 2008 and Used since 2011 to Elect the Mayor when Three Candidates Run, as in 2011 and 2015.
For Military and Overseas Voters in Runoffs:
Arkansas: Adopted in 2005, First Used 2006, and was Extended to All Local Runoffs in 2007.
Alabama: By Agreement with a Federal Court, Used in Special Election for U.S. House, 2013; became Law for All Federal Primary Runoffs in 2015.
Louisiana: Adopted and Used since the 1990s for State and Federal General Election Runoffs; also includes Out-of-State Military Voters.
Mississippi: Adopted in 2014 for Use in Federal Runoffs.
South Carolina: Adopted and First Used in 2006 for State and Federal Runoffs.
Springfield, Illinois: Adopted in 2007 and Used since 2011.
Upcoming Implementations:
Amherst, Massachusetts: Adopted Charter in 2018 with RCV and Passing Implementation Statute before Projected First Use in 2021.
Benton County, Oregon: Adopted by Voters in 2016 for Elected County Offices including Sheriff and County Commissioner. It will be Used in 2020.
Las Cruces, New Mexico: Adopted by the City Council in 2018 for all Municipal Elections beginning in 2019.
St. Louis Park, Minnesota: Adopted in 2018 for Municipal Offices including Mayor and City Council. It will be Used in 2019.
Memphis, Tennessee: Adopted by Voters in 2008, awaiting Implementation.
Advisory or Option for Future Uses:
Davis, California: Adopted in 2006 as an Advisory Referendum for Fair Representation Form of RCV and awaiting State Law Change.
Ferndale, Michigan: Adopted by Voters in 2004, awaiting Implementation Readiness.
Santa Clara County, California: Approved by Voters as Option in 1998.
Sarasota, Florida: Adopted by Voters in 2007, Awaiting Implementation Readiness.
Vancouver, Washington: Approved by Voters as Option in 1999.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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