Voters in New York City will decide on a measure that could significantly impact how they vote in the future. A proposal for Ranked Choice Voting will be on the ballot. It’s being praised for giving voters more power.
You’ve probably gone into a voting booth and voted for a candidate – or maybe against a candidate. But you get only one choice. What if you could rank a few candidates – your favorite, second choice, etc.? That’s how ranked-choice voting works. And Susan Lerner from Common Cause believes it will lead to nominees and office holders truly supported by the people.
"We consensus choice of the majority of the voters," said Lerner. "In these very crowded fields it is not unusual to have the winner be chosen with less than 50, often less than 40 percent, of the vote. So this is a strengthening democracy reform."
After voters rank their choices, if someone gets a majority, they win. If not, second and third place ranks come into play until majority support is reached.
The idea is not new. It’s being used in San Francisco, Minneapolis and Sante Fe and in some other countries. And it change the way people campaign, especially on new ideas.
"It discourages negative campaigning," said Lerner. "It encourages the candidates in reaching out to as many voters as they can possibly reach, in as many communities as they can possibly reach, to provide them with accurate information about their own viewpoints."
This reform is being considered for New York City. But Lerner believes if approved, the large population there would send a message and ranked choice voting could expand around the state and nation.
