Page 2 - AT

A2 UP FRONT
Monday 4 noveMber 2019
1 person, 1 vote?

Maybe not. NYC mulls

ranked choice voting

Continued from Front Democratic, and elections
are frequently decided in
Backers like the system be- the primaries.
cause it forces candidates A win in New York City
to broaden their appeal would be a big victory for
beyond a narrow base in a movement that's seen
hopes of being chosen sec- mixed success nationally.
ond or third by other vot- About a dozen U.S. cities
ers. It can also reduce the have used ranked-choice
chance that a fringe can- voting in certain elections,
didate, deeply disliked by according to advocacy
a majority of voters, could group FairVote. It's spread-
triumph in a crowded field. ing to at least five more
"Voters hear from more cities including Las Cruces,
candidates and candi- New Mexico, and East-
dates pay attention to a pointe, Michigan, in this
much broader selection month's elections.
of communities and opin- Nearly half of state legisla-
ions," said Susan Lerner, the tures considered bills con-
executive director of Com- cerning ranked-choice
mon Cause New York, a voting this year. New Mex-
good government group ico lawmakers passed a
that supports the measure. law that officially paves the
Critics of the system call it way for the system in local
unconstitutional or confus- elections.
ing. But such bills have largely
"For me, the headline is that stalled or failed at the state
it comes with some addi- level. California's Demo-
tional complexity and that cratic Gov. Gavin Newsom
imposes negative costs on vetoed a bill last month
voters," said Jason McDan- that would have allowed
iel, a political scientist at more cities, counties and
San Francisco State Univer- school districts in California
sity who said he would "not to use the system.
be surprised to see a some- "Where it has been imple-
what lower turnout if New mented, I am concerned In this Nov. 4, 2014 file photo, a voter carries her ballot to be scanned at a polling place in New
York adopts ranked-choice that it has often led to York’s Chinatown neighborhood.
voting." voter confusion, and that Associated Press
The plan up for approval the promise that ranked- for mailers, Facebook ads elections, now required in tor's job, several county
Tuesday would institute the choice voting leads to and a social media cam- some races if the leading executive and district at-
system only in primary elec- greater democracy is not paign featuring "American candidate wins less than torney positions around the
tions and special elections necessarily fulfilled," New- President" actor Michael 40% of the vote. state, mayor's jobs in Yonk-
for the positions of mayor, som said in his veto mes- Douglas . Also on the ballot in New ers and Mount Vernon and
city comptroller, public ad- sage. Opposition to the measure York on Tuesday are races the New York City office of
vocate, borough president Still, supporters have been emerged in the days lead- for an upstate state sena- public advocate.q
and City Council. It would emboldened by its rollout in ing up to the election from
start in 2021. primaries and federal races the City Council's Black,
A candidate who wins in Maine, where the system Latino and Asian Caucus, a
more than 50% of first- first approved by voters in majority of whose members
place votes would be de- 2016 has survived a legal believe the ranked-choice
clared the winner outright. challenge and skepticism. system may favor white
If no one gets 50%, the can- In New York City, the cam- candidates over candi-
didate with the fewest first- paign for the ballot initia- dates of color.
place votes is eliminated. tive has been funded by Some individual members
The votes of the people The Committee for Ranked of the caucus disagree
who favored that elimi- Choice Voting NYC, Inc., and are supporting the
nated candidate are then which has raised nearly $2 measure.
transferred to their second- million, according to state Because it makes the vote
choice candidates, and campaign finance reports . count more complex, the
the vote is counted again. That includes over $1 million system can present chal-
The process continues until from nonprofit Action Now lenges for news organiza-
one candidate has a ma- Initiative, $500,000 from tions aiming to announce
jority of votes. James and Kathryn Mur- winners as soon as possible
Ranked-choice voting doch and $100,000 from after polls close.
wouldn't be used in gen- Jonathan Soros, a promi- Supporters say the meas-
eral elections, but in New nent liberal donor and son ure could save New York
York that can be a moot of billionaire George Soros. City the trouble and ex-
point. The city is heavily The donations have paid pense of mounting runoff