New York City’s mayoral election has become the race to watch because of its surprisingly competitive nature but also the electoral system that’s helped it become so competitive: ranked choice voting. Adopted in several states and cities across the U.S., ranked choice voting essentially allows voters to express a preference for more than one candidate. In New York City, for example, voters rank their top five choices. If a voter’s top choice gets eliminated, their vote goes to the candidate who is next on their ballot. It’s a relatively new change for New York City, which first used it in the 2021 primary, and many other jurisdictions — and a method that aims to address what some see as a fatal flaw in traditional elections: lack of meaningful choice and polarization.
While ranked choice voting has its benefits, political scientists say it also has its fair share of problems, which have become apparent in the race for New York City’s mayor. Ideally, the system “allows people to express more diverse ideological preferences and potentially even elect more ideologically diverse candidates,” says Nicholas Beauchamp, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University. When there are only two established candidates, especially candidates who might be further apart on the political spectrum, “even putting forth a third candidate can undercut your own side in many ways,” Beauchamp explains. Ranked choice voting potentially allows for people who have broader but less extreme levels of support to become viable candidates.
