NYC will use ranked choice voting in this year’s Primary Election. How does it work?

New York City will use ranked choice voting in this year’s Primary Election for Mayor, Borough Presidents, City Council, Comptroller and Public Advocate. This means, NYC voters will be able to rank up to five candidates.

How does it work?

Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank as many as 5 candidates. If a candidate wins a majority (more than 50%) of first choice votes, then that candidate wins the election!

If no candidate wins a majority of first choice votes, counting will begin in rounds. To start, the candidate with the fewest first choice votes is eliminated. If a voter’s first choice is eliminated, their vote will be redistributed to their second choice. In round two, the last place candidate is eliminated. Once again, if a voter’s top remaining candidate is eliminated, their vote will be redistributed. This system of eliminating and redistributing votes continues until there are only two candidates left. The candidate with the most votes of the final two wins the election.

How do I vote?

Voters will get a ballot listing all the candidates in the left column. There will be five more columns, each labeled with a ranking 1 through 5 (with 1 for first choice and 5 for fifth choice). Voters should mark their first choice in column 1 and continue to rank their second, third, fourth, and fifth choices in columns 2 through 5. Voters can choose to rank any number of candidates – from just 1 to up to 5 – without hurting their first choice candidate.

Make sure your vote counts:

- Don’t rank the same candidate twice 

- Don’t give more than one candidate the same ranking

NYC primaries is just days away!

This is an incredibly important election year in New York City, with elections for mayor, borough presidents, and the entire City Council. Our union wants to make sure that all of our members know how to cast their ballots using this new system.

If you have questions about how to vote, please contact your HEAT Representative at (212) 245-8100. 

Volunteers! We will count on our members to help educate voters as we canvass and phone bank for union-backed candidates in the coming weeks. If you want to get more involved, sign up to volunteer with our union on our website.