12
L E H A V R E
N E W S
J U N E Prepping for the Primaries
NYC Elections 2021: Tuesday, June 22
BY JILL DAVIS
The NYC Democratic and Republican primaries
are happening on June 22, and there’s a lot going on
this year.
Ranked Choice Voting Arrives in
NYC
Perhaps most newsworthy is the introduction of
Ranked Choice Voting to the City. Although this
system has been used in many other municipalities
over the years, New York is by far the largest city to
institute this method. It was put on the ballot in 2019,
and it received tremendous support, with nearly 75%
of voters voting in favor of the measure. And so here
it is…but how does it work?
• Voters can rank up to five (5) candidates in order
of preference, instead of casting a vote for just
one.
• You do not have to rank all five. You can rank as
many or as few candidates (up to 5) as you like.
• You can choose to vote for only one candidate and
leave the other columns blank.
• Pick your first-choice candidate and fill in the
oval next to their name under the 1st column. If
you have a second-choice candidate, fill in the
oval next to their name under the 2nd column and
so forth.
• You cannot rank the same candidate more than once.
Calling All Mathematicians
Important note: Once the polls close, if a candidate
wins a majority of first-choice votes, i.e., more than
50%, that person wins outright. But if no one has a
majority of first-choice votes after the first round, the
person with the lowest number of first-choice votes
is eliminated. That candidate’s votes are redistributed
to the second-choice candidate on the ballots. The
process is repeated for each round until only two
candidates are left. The person with the most votes
then is the winner.
Except in rare cases, the winner will have a majority.
Sometimes, however, a candidate will achieve a
majority before there are only two left, but counting
still continues. Although this person has already technically
already won, completing the rounds of vote
counting ensures that the most number of people will
have their votes count in the final round.
Why do this?
Proponents say the point of ranked-choice is to
help ensure that the winner receives broader support
since a higher proportion of voters, on average, will
have at least partially backed the winner. Supporters
also say it saves money by eliminating the need for
runoff elections. In New York City, citywide elections
where the first-place finisher does not reach
a 40% threshold automatically results in a runoff,
which can cost a lot of money, be divisive when
used to determine primaries and often have a much
lower turnout than the original election. Instead, the
runoff happens instantly – hence “instant runoff” –
with the votes that have already been cast.
12 LEHAVRE COURIER | JUNE 2021 | WWW.QNS.COM
They also say that ranked-choice decreases negative
campaigning since candidates are looking to be
the second-choices of their opponents’ supporters,
and that it encourages candidates to reach out to
a wide coalition to build a broad base of support.
Although some critics say this will lead to fewer candidates
taking hard stands on divisive issues, proponents
argue that hasn’t happened in cities where the
system has been used. Source: Cityandstateny.com
What else is going on?
Oh, nothing much…just that these changes in voting
procedures are happening simultaneously with
five (5) important NYC offices up for election:
• Mayor
• Public Advocate
• Comptroller
• Borough President
• City Council Elections
There are several websites where you can find out
more about the candidates and voting procedures.
Some of these include:
• ny1.com (Spectrum Ch. 1)
• thecity.nyc (Nonprofit, nonpartisan digital news
platform)
• vote.nyc (NYC Board of Elections)
• voting.nyc (Informational site funded by the
Campaign Finance Board)
Important Dates
In New York, you must be a registered member of
the party in order to vote in that party’s primary.
June 12 – 20: Days of Early Voting (See below)
June 15: Last day to postmark, email or fax application
for primary ballot.
June 21: Last day to apply in person for primary
ballot.
June 22: Primary election
Last day to postmark primary election
ballot (must be received by June 29).
Early Voting Site for Le Havre
Korean Community Services
203-05 32 Avenue, Bayside
Hours vary by day; check https://findmypollsite.
vote.nyc for specific hours.
Election Day Voting Site
PS 193
152-20 11th Avenue (Entrance on 12th Avenue)
Hours 6:00am – 9:00pm
Upcoming Televised Primary Debates
• Mayoral Republican: Sunday, June 6, Time TBA, WABC–TV Ch. 7
• Comptroller Democratic: Thursday, June 10, 7 pm–8 pm, Spectrum Ch. 1
• Mayoral Democratic: Wednesday, June 16, 7 pm–8 pm, WNBC-TV Ch. 4
• Comptroller Democratic: Sunday, June 20, 9:30 am - 10:30 am, WNBC-TV Ch. 4
/Cityandstateny.com
/WWW.QNS.COM
/findmypollsite
/ny1.com
/findmypollsite
