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Ranked choice voting put to upcoming primary test
BY ARIEL PACHECO
Call it the one person, up to fi ve votes
doctrine.
That after New York City is
poised to roll out ranked-choice voting
(RCV) in a big way in the June 2021 primary
elections including for the offi ces of
mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough
president, and City Council elections.
RCV allows for voters to rank up to fi ve
candidates per offi ce in order of preference
rather than voting for just one candidate.
If a candidate receives more than 50% of
the fi rst-choice votes they are the winner. If
no candidate earns more than 50% of the
fi rst-choice votes, then the votes will then
be tallied in rounds.
At the conclusion of each round, the
candidate with the fewest votes will be
eliminated. If the eliminated candidate
had been the fi rst choice on a ballot, the
vote then transfers to whoever was the
second-choice on the ballot. The process
continues until there are two candidates
left. The candidate with the most votes is
the winner.
Voters are allowed to vote for just one
candidate – dubbed a bullet ballot – and
leave the rest of the ballot blank but are
only allowed to vote for one candidate for
each column. If a voter ranks the same
candidate as their fi rst, second, third, etc.
choice, it will still only count as one vote
as it is the same as leaving the second and
third choice blank.
Voters also do not have to vote for fi ve
candidates. Voters will also still be able
FILE PHOTO
to vote for write-in candidates. There is a
“write-in line” on the ballot with an oval
that will indicate where the voter wants to
rank the write-in candidates.
RCV is a variation of the one person,
one vote doctrine fi rst coined in Britain
in 1880, but in America it relates more to
redistricting congressional lines.In 1964,
Wesberry v. Sanders, the U.S. Supreme
Court declared that equality of voting – one
person, one vote – means that “the weight
and worth of the citizens’ votes as nearly
as is practicable must be the same.” and
ruled that states must also draw federal
congressional districts containing roughly
equal represented populations.
RCV, on the other hand, was implemented
with the argument to help improve
the representation of the voting system
while also helping to cut down on negative
campaigning between candidates. It allows
voters to have more say in who their elected
offi cials are, the argument holds..
City voters approved RCV in a 2019 ballot
measure with 73.5% of people voting
yes for ranked-choice voting.
RCV was already utilized recently in a
few special city council elections in Queens
and the Bronx. While there were no reported
complaints of fraud, it took weeks
past the election day to get results. Voters
will likely see a similar scenario play out
in many upcoming primary races with no
determined winner.
Early primary voting is slated to start
this Saturday, June 12 and run through
Sunday, June 20. The primary is slated
for Tuesday, June 22.
TenantsPAC endorses Mark Levine for boro prez
BY DEAN MOSES
Manhattan Borough President
candidate Mark Levine landed
a major endorsement from the
Tenants Political Action Committee
(TenantsPAC).
According to the head of TenantsPAC
Michael Mckee, slapping their seal of
approval upon the candidate was determined
thanks to Levine’s effort to create
and expand the right to legal counsel for
New Yorkers facing eviction. McKee told
amNewYork Metro that the decision did
not come lightly, however. Placing their
faith in a prospective elected offi cial is a
representation of an organization’s ideals,
so it took the board careful consideration
to make the choice, but thanks to Levine’s
steadfast support of residents during one
of the worst health crises the city has ever
faced, Mckee says the decision became
clear.
FILE PHOTO
City Councilman Mark Levine
“I think what fi nally tilted it for Mark
was the right to counsel, which is a very
big deal—a game changer giving tenants
a free lawyer when they are sued in housing
court. It is fair to say that swayed the
majority of the board in favor of Mark
Levine,” Mckee told amNewYork Metro.
As the election this year is decided
through rank choice, this endorsement
also comes with rank choice support.
Mckee says that Levine is their top choice
while Brad Holyman is their second. He
also credits current Manhattan Borough
President Gale Brewer for serving tenants
and believes Levine will continue
this work.
“The Borough President doesn’t power
over rezoning but certainly the Borough
President can make a very big impression
through their bully pulpit,” Mckee said,
explaining that with this new platform
Levine could further aid and bring awareness
to tenant rights if elected.
For Levine, he says that this endorsement
means the world to him since he
has been fi ghting for tenant rights long
before the pandemic caused a downward
spiral of looming evictions for thousands
of New Yorkers.
“One of the greatest challenges Manhattan
faces coming out of this pandemic
is to protect vulnerable tenants in the face
of what could be an epidemic of eviction
on a scale we haven’t seen probably since
the Great Depression,” Levine said.
If elected, Levine plans on dealing with
the dual issue of creating more housing
opportunities as well as more affordable
housing. As a council member, he says
this is an effort he has already accomplished
within his district of Northern
Manhattan.
“We’ve created hundreds of units of
new affordable housing that’s equally affordable
rents and I’m going to take that
borough wide by using every tool at my
disposal to force developers to create a
maximum amount of affordable housing
at deeply affordable rents,” Levine said.
Levine credits the large number of
backings from several labor unions
and now the TenantsPAC on his corner
to his dedication on fi ghting for equity
throughout his career, especially during
the pandemic.
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