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New York City Ballot Question 1, Elections Charter: Ranked-Choice Voting, Vacancies, and City Council Redistricting Timeline Amendment (November 2019)

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Local ballot measure elections in 2019
Ballot Question 1, New York City Elections Charter Amendment: Ranked-Choice Voting, Vacancies, and City Council Redistricting Timeline
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The basics
Election date:
November 5, 2019
Status:
Approveda Approved
Topic:
Local electoral systems
Related articles
Local electoral systems on the ballot
November 5, 2019 ballot measures in New York
New York County, New York ballot measures
Other counties
Local election and voting laws on the ballot
See also
New York, New York

New York City Ballot Question 1, a charter amendment concerning elections, was on the ballot for New York City voters on November 5, 2019. It was approved.

A yes vote was a vote in favor of amending the city charter to do the following:
  • establish ranked-choice voting to be used for primary and special elections beginning in 2021;
  • increase the time between a city office vacancy and the special election to fill it from 45 days (60 for mayor) to 80 days; and
  • change the timeline for city council redistricting to complete it prior to city council nominating petition signature collection.
A no vote was a vote against amending the city charter regarding elections policy, thereby
  • leaving in place a plurality (or first-past-the-post) system for most city elections;
  • leaving the time between a city office vacancy and the special election to fill it at 45 days (60 days for mayor); and
  • leaving the timeline for city council redistricting unchanged.

Election results

New York Ballot Question 1

Result Votes Percentage

Approved Yes

510,153 73.61%
No 182,900 26.39%
Results are officially certified.
Source


Overview

What did Question 1 change about the electoral process in New York City?

Question 1 changed three election policies in the city's charter.

  • First, Question 1 provided for ranked-choice voting in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and city council members. As of 2019, the city's charter provided for plurality voting, also known as first-past-the-post, and run-off elections, depending on the office and type of election. Question 1 allowed voters to rank in order of preference up to five candidates, including a write-in candidate.
  • Second, Question 1 increased the amount of time between vacancies and the special elections to fill them from 45 or 60 days, depending on the office, to 80 days.
  • Third, Question 1 changed the timeline for redistricting of the New York City Council so that districts are known before candidates start gathering petition signatures to appear on the ballot. The timeline change was proposed in response to Senate Bill 1103, which changed the date of primaries for municipal elections from September to June—the same date as the non-presidential federal primaries.

How did elections work in New York City before the approval of Question 1?

Going into the election, New York City used a plurality voting system—also called first-past-the-post or winner-take-all—for most municipal elections. In a plurality voting system, the candidate with the most votes wins outright. A combination of plurality and run-off voting systems was used for primary elections for the offices of mayor, comptroller, and public advocate. In the primary elections for these offices, if one candidate did not receive more than 40% of votes, a run-off was held between the top two candidates. The plurality election system was also used for all general and special elections and for primary elections for all non-citywide offices.[1]

What is ranked-choice voting?

See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

A ranked-choice voting system (RCV) is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates by preference on their ballots. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, he or she is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated. First-preference votes cast for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots. In the case of this proposal, these eliminations are continued until only two candidates remain, and the candidate with the most votes is the winner. This system is sometimes referred to as an instant runoff voting system.

Where was ranked-choice voting used as of 2019?

Since this charter amendment was approved, New York City became the most populous jurisdiction in the U.S. to employ the ranked-choice voting election method as of 2019.

Maine, as the only state to use ranked-choice voting for statewide elections, was the most populous jurisdiction to feature the election method going into the election. Ranked-choice voting was established in Maine through a citizen initiative approved by voters in 2016 and upheld by voters through a veto referendum in 2018. As of 2019, ranked-choice voting was used or has been approved for use in elections in 24 cities and counties in 12 states.

Aftermath

Adams v. New York City

On Dec. 8, 2020, a group of plaintiffs, including several city council members, sued the New York City Board of Elections and the New York City Campaign Finance Board in the New York County Supreme Court, the trial court for Manhattan. The plaintiffs alleged the city's "stated plan to use [ranked-choice voting] in violation of the City Charter's requirements, if allowed to proceed, will deprive New York City's limited-English proficient population of the right to vote for and elect candidates of their choice in violation of the Voting Rights Act." The plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order barring election officials from using ranked-choice voting, pending the development of a new rollout plan.[2]

On Dec. 16, Judge Carol Edmead rejected the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order. Edmead also declined the plaintiffs' request for an expedited hearing schedule.[2]

On Dec. 17, 2020, the petitioners appealed Edmead's decision to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, First Judicial Department. On January 7, 2021, the appellate court denied the petitioners' request.[3][4]

The case name and number are Adams v. New York City (appellate court: pending; trial court: 160662/2020).[3]

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:[5]

“

This proposal would amend the City Charter to:

Give voters the choice of ranking up to five candidates in primary and special elections for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council beginning in January 2021. If voters still want to choose just one candidate, they can. A candidate who receives a majority of first-choice votes would win. If there is no majority winner, the last place candidate would be eliminated and any voter who had that candidate as their top choice would have their vote transferred to their next choice. This process would repeat until only two candidates remain, and the candidate with the most votes then would be the winner. This proposal would eliminate the separate run-off primary elections for Mayor, Public Advocate, and Comptroller;

Extend the time period between the occurrence of a vacancy in an elected City office and when a special election must be held to fill that vacancy. Special elections would generally be held 80 days after the vacancy occurs, instead of 45 days (for Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough Presidents and Council Members) or 60 days (for Mayor); and

Adjust the timeline of the process for drawing City Council district boundaries so that it is completed before City Council candidates start gathering petition signatures to appear on the ballot for the next primary elections. This process occurs every ten years.

Shall this proposal be adopted?[6]

”

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support

Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC led the Yes on 1 campaign.[7]

Supporters

Officials

Organizations

Arguments

  • Jumaane Williams, New York City Public Advocate, said, "This has the opportunity to strengthen the people's vote, getting more people to come out, saving money, ending negative campaigns, it seems like a win-win to me."[11]

Opposition

Opponents

  • The Black, Latino and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council[12]

Arguments

Councilman Daneek Miller, said, “What I would see is not necessarily diminishing those powers (of minority voting blocs), but empowering those who don’t necessarily have the numbers, but are new to the community … and don’t have the numbers to achieve the electoral success that they’re looking for.” Miller also said, "There is a very, very strong feeling that this undermines democracy as we know it in communities of color.”[12]

If you know of additional opponents or arguments that should be posted here, email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements in California
The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recent scheduled reports that Ballotpedia has processed, which covered through January 17, 2020.


Total campaign contributions:
Support: $2,233,829.29
Opposition: $0.00

One political action committee was registered in support of Ballot Question 1. The Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc. raised a total of $2.23 million. There was no committee registered in opposition to Ballot Question 1.

Support

The following were contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the initiative.[13]

Committees in support of New York City Ballot Question 1, Elections Charter Amendment: Ranked-Choice Voting, Vacancies, and City Council Redistricting Timeline (November 2019)
Supporting committeesCash contributionsIn-kind servicesCash expenditures
Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc.$2,043,219.00$190,610.29$1,993,873.19
Total$2,043,219.00$190,610.29$1,993,873.19
Totals in support
Total raised:$2,233,829.29
Total spent:$2,184,483.48

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc.:[9]

Donor Cash In-kind Total
Action Now Initiative, LLC $1,000,000.00 $20,000.00 $1,020,000.00
James and Kathryn Murdoch $500,000 $0.00 $500,000
Represent.Us $182,970.33 $87,139.96 $270,110.29
Wilhelm Vonmueffling $200,000.00 $0.00 $200,000.00
Jonathan Soros $100,000 $0.00 $100,000

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify any committees registered in opposition to the measure.

If you are aware of a committee registered to oppose this measure, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Change to municipal election dates

In 2019, the New York State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1103 (SB 1103), which Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) signed on January 24, 2019. SB 1103 changed the date of primaries for municipal elections from September to June—the same date as the non-presidential federal primaries.[14]

The 2019 Charter Revision Commission

See also: New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission

The New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission proposed this charter amendment for voters' consideration. The commission was created by a vote of the city council and was tasked with considering the entire city charter and suggesting revisions for ratification by voters at the November 2019 election. The last charter revision commission tasked with a full revision of the city charter put proposals on the 1989 city ballot. The revisions proposed by the 1989 commissioner were approved by voters. One of the most significant changes was the abolishment of the New York City Board of Estimate and the redistribution of its authority and duties to the mayor and the city council. There have been other charter revision commissions approved for more specific purposes since 1989, including a commission launched by the mayor to put charter amendments on the November 2018 ballot.[15]

Click here to read more about the 2019 charter revision commission and the other proposals it put on the ballot.

Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

Ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot measures
Pages:
• Ranked-choice voting (RCV)
• History of RCV ballot measures
• Electoral systems on the ballot
• Local electoral systems on the ballot
• Electoral systems by state
See also: Ranked-choice voting (RCV)

The ballot measure has played a role in shaping electoral systems in the U.S., including ranked-choice voting (RCV) for state and local elections.

Since 1915, there have been more than 150 ballot measures to adopt or repeal ranked-choice voting systems. Ashtabula, Ohio, was the first jurisdiction to approve a ranked-choice voting measure in 1915.

RCV is an electoral system in which voters rank candidates on their ballots. RCV can be used for single-winner elections or multi-winner elections; when used for multi-winner elections, the system has also been called single-transferable vote or proportional representation. These terms were often used to describe multi-winner RCV before the 1970s. You can learn more about ranked-choice voting systems and policies here.

Local RCV ballot measures

See also: History of ranked-choice voting (RCV) ballot measures

Between 1965 and 2024, 79 ranked-choice voting (RCV) local ballot measures were on the ballot in 58 jurisdictions in 19 states.

  • Ballotpedia has located 71 local ballot measures to adopt RCV. Voters approved 52 (78.9%) and rejected 15 (21.1%).
  • There were eight local ballot measures to repeal RCV. Voters approved four (50.0%) and rejected four (50.0%).
  • The year with the most local RCV ballot measures was 2022, when nine were on the ballot in nine jurisdictions. Voters approved seven of them.
  • The state with the most local ballot measures related to RCV is California, where there have been 13.


The following table shows the number of ranked-choice voting measures by topic.

Local ranked-choice vote measures by topic and outcome, 1965 - April 2025
Topic Total Approved Approved (%) Defeated Defeated (%)
  Adopt RCV 72 57 79.2% 15 20.08%
  Repeal RCV 8 4 50.0% 4 50.0%
Total 80 61 76.3% 19 23.7%


Path to the ballot

See also: New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission, ballot proposals

The creation of the 15-member New York City Charter Commission of 2019 was approved by the New York City Council on April 11, 2018, and signed by the mayor on April 30, 2018. The commission was tasked with reviewing the New York City Charter and putting proposals for amending the charter before voters at the November 2019 ballot. The commission approved 20 proposed charter amendments to be sent to staff to draft final language and to be put on the November 2019 ballot pending final approval on July 24, 2019.[16][17]

The commission voted to 13-1 to send a ranked-choice voting charter amendment proposal to staff to draft official language on June 12, 2019. The adoption of the motion put the charter amendment before the full commission for final consideration on July 24, 2019. The specific proposal was approved by the following commission members:[18]

  • Gail Benjamin (Chair)
  • Sal Albanese
  • Dr. Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
  • Lisette Camilo
  • James Caras
  • Stephen Fiala
  • Paula Gavin
  • Lindsay Greene
  • Alison Hirsh
  • Rev. Clinton Miller
  • Sateesh Nori
  • James Vacca
  • Carl Weisbrod

Commissioner Member Dr. Merryl Tisch voted against it.[18]

Prior to the adoption of the motion to send the proposal to staff for official language, Commission Member Fiala proposed amending the proposal to apply ranked-choice voting to all city elections, including general elections. The proposed change was rejected with six commissioners in favor and eight opposed.[18]

The other two proposals combined into Question 1 were also approved separately on June 12, 2019. Question 1 along with four other questions comprised of 18 other proposals were approved for the November 2019 ballot by the commission on July 24, 2019, when the commission voted to approve the final staff report of the 2019 New York City Charter Revision Commission.[5]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ New York State Senate, "Consolidated Laws, Section 6-162," accessed June 25, 2019
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 New York County Clerk, "Adams v. New York City (New York County Supreme Court)," January 1, 2020
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 New York County Clerk, "Adams v. New York City (Appellate Division)," December 17, 2020
  4. ↑ New York County Clerk, "Adams v. New York City (Appellate Division)," January 7, 2021
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission, "Ballot Questions," accessed July 24, 2019
  6. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  7. ↑ Rank the Vote NYC, "Home," accessed October 7, 2019
  8. ↑ 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 8.10 8.11 8.12 8.13 Rank the Vote, "Endorsements," accessed October 8, 2019
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 New York State Board of Elections, "Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc.," accessed October 8, 2019
  10. ↑ Unite America, "Unite America Announces Investments in Four Reform Campaigns," September 19, 2019
  11. ↑ Spectrum News, "NYC Could Implement Ranked-Choice Voting. Here's How That Would Work.," published September 19, 2019
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 City and State, "Black, Latino and Asian Caucus of the New York City Council comes out against ranked choice voting," October 31, 2019
  13. ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "Committee for Ranked Choice Voting NYC, Inc.," accessed October 8, 2019
  14. ↑ New York State Legislature, "Senate Bill 1103," accessed July 29, 2019
  15. ↑ New York City 2019 Charter Revision Commission, "Background," accessed June 22, 2019
  16. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named LocalLaw
  17. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Ballot
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MinutesJuneone
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