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Assemblywoman Barbara Lifton (D-125) announced yesterday that she's introduced a bill in the State Assembly that would allow 'ranked choice' voting to be conducted on a trial basis for county and local elections, including school boards, in the 2022 and 2023 election years. It's a local option and subject to a vote of the residents of that municipality.

"Ranked choice voting is a method that is currently used in many U.S. cities, as well as the State of Maine, and the results seem positive, with, reportedly, more people voting and reduced negative election rhetoric," said Lifton. "New York State, despite recent improvements, still has the ninth lowest voter turnout rate in the country, and as we explore ways to reverse this trend, it's important that we be open to innovative reforms, like ranked choice voting, that have the potential to strengthen our democracy."

In contrast to our current method of voting, in which voters cast their ballots in favor of a single candidate in a multi-candidate election, and the candidate with the most votes wins, ranked choice voting allows voters to rank multiple candidates by order of preference.

If the candidate with the most first-choice votes wins a majority of votes, then that candidate wins the election. However, if no candidate wins a majority, then the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated, and supporters of that candidate will have their second-choice votes counted. The process repeats automatically until one candidate receives a majority of the votes. This type of voting would also save money for municipalities by avoiding the cost of runoff elections, in a situation where a runoff could be required.

"The ranked choice voting system has several potential benefits," said Lifton. "For starters, in a race with multiple candidates, it allows voters to choose their favorite candidate without fear that they will play the spoiler and help elect a candidate to whom they are strongly opposed. Secondly, it likely cuts down on negative campaigning, because it encourages candidates to seek out second- and even third-choice votes, thus discouraging candidates from alienating voters who support another candidate as their first choice. Finally – and this in my mind is probably the biggest advantage – it encourages higher voter turnout and ensures that the winning candidate has true majority support, rather than just a plurality in a multi-candidate contest."

Senator Krueger carries this bill in the New York State Senate.

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