How ranked choice voting will work in the Bronx 2021
District 11 and 15 special elections on March 23
BY HAZEL SHAHGHOLI AND
MARK MALLUM
Primary and special elections
will never be the same
with ranked choice voting
going into effect in 2021, and
seeing as primaries are the
deciding factor in Democratheavy
New York City, it’s going
to be important.
The new a ballot format
that allows them to choose
from most to least favorite
for offi ce. This new format
will be used for the Bronx
March 23 special elections
Districts 11 and 15. Candidates
in the running will be
competing for seats formerly
held by City Councilmember
Andy Cohen, who vacated
his District 11 seat in
January to become a Bronx
Supreme Court judge, and
that of Ritchie Torres of District
15 who was elected to
the U.S. House of Representatives
in November.
The early voting periods
for these elections run from
March 13 to March 21, and
voters can visit www.vote.
nyc/page/bronx-11th-and-
15th-council-districts-special
election for information
on absentee ballot registration
and details on early voting
days. To vote in person
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, F 2 EB. 26-MAR. 4, 2021
on an early voting day you
must vote at your assigned
early voting site, which you
can fi nd by visiting https://
fi ndmypollsite.vote.nyc/. To
fi nd out what District you
live in and whether you are
eligible to vote in these elections
you can go to www.
mygovnyc.org. The Bronx
Times will be updating you
in the coming weeks with
information on all of the
candidates, but you can also
check them out yourself
here https://vote.nyc/page/
list-candidates.
WHAT WILL THE BALLOT
LOOK LIKE?
Ballots in upcoming elections
will give voters fi ve
choices to either give a tier
one rank to fi ve. However,
if they wish to simply only
vote for one candidate and
leave the rest of the bubbles
blank.
If none of the candidates
get by with a 50% majority,
the candidate with the
least rank is eliminated
and second choice votes are
counted until a winner is
determined.
According to the city
Campaign Finance Board,
giving one candidate ranks
one through fi ve will result
in not have a second choice
and giving multiple candidates
top choice will render
your ballot invalid by the
Board of Elections.
(Screenshot courtesy of the New York City Campaign Finance Board)
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