Tag: New York

NY

  • Albany Ranked-Choice Voting Petition Submitted to City Clerk

    | Kayla Jennings | Hoodline |

    Albany could be headed toward a major overhaul of how it picks its mayor and Common Council members. Ranked Choice Voting Albany turned in a petition with 1,975 signatures to the city clerk's office on Oct. 29, and now officials must determine whether at least 1,200 of them are valid before the proposal can move forward.

    “Give every registered Albany voter a meaningful voice”

    If the clerk validates enough signatures, Albany voters could decide the fate of ranked-choice voting as soon as the 2027 general election, according to WAMC. The referendum would ask residents whether to eliminate party primaries altogether and instead elect city officials, including the mayor and Common Council members, through a single November election decided by ranked-choice voting.

    Ranked Choice Voting Albany co-chair Charlotte Collet said hundreds of registered voters she has spoken with like the proposal, citing its fairness, inclusiveness, lower cost and simplicity. Collet said the system would give every registered Albany voter a meaningful voice, regardless of party affiliation.

    Read full article

  • “For a More Perfect Union” book proposes ranked-choice voting as an alternative to the two-party system

    | Shane Watson | EINPresswire |

    Author John B. Bloom draws on three decades of experience in New York and Virginia party politics to outline election reform proposals.

    “Give independent and third-party candidates more opportunity to compete”

    SPOTSYLVANIA COUNTY, VA — Author and political activist John B. Bloom announces his new book, “For a More Perfect Union,” which examines how political parties operate and proposes changes to the way Americans vote. Bloom has run for office as a Republican, a Libertarian, and a member of New York’s Conservative Party, and the book draws on his experience across those organizations.

    At the center of the book is a proposal for ranked-choice voting, a system already in use in several states and cities. Under this system, voters rank candidates in order of preference instead of choosing only one. Bloom argues that the approach would give independent and third-party candidates more opportunity to compete and would allow voters to support smaller parties without concern about how their vote affects the final result.

    Read full article

  • Ranked-choice voting push reaches Albany, as advocates eye 2027 ballot

    | Noah Love | Spectrum News |

    Albany city leaders are considering a major overhaul to how residents vote, joining a movement that has already reached New York City and cities across the country.

    The Common Council’s Law Committee held meetings this week on ranked-choice voting, a system that could reshape city elections, after a grassroots group delivered more than 3,000 petition signatures to the city clerk in an effort to put the question before voters.

    “Everyone gets a say”

    Dorian Solot, co-chair of Ranked Choice Voting Albany, said the change would eliminate the so-called ‘spoiler effect’ and tends to increase the share of women and candidates of color who win office.

    “We really want to be sure that everyone, regardless of how they’re registered to vote, everyone gets a say in our elections,” Solot said.

    Read full article

  • Breaking Down Ranked Choice Voting in the 2026 Wisconsin Primary

    | Larry Sandler | Milwaukee Magazine |

    Crowley edged Hong by half a percentage point in the crowded and chaotic Aug. 11 primary, in which four of seven candidates dropped out and Crowley jumped back in, all after ballots were printed and absentee voting was under way. The race’s wild trajectory left some voters wondering how the campaign might have played out in a ranked-choice voting system.

    Under the current system, you only get one vote. And in this state, if you cast an absentee ballot for a candidate who drops out, you can’t change your vote to someone who is still in the race.

    “68,000 votes that could have gone to someone whose candidacy was still alive”

    RCV advocates at Fair Vote call those “zombie votes.” Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and former state development chief Missy Hughes weren’t among the walking dead themselves, but their names remained undead on the Democratic primary ballot after they stopped running. Together they received more than 68,000 votes that could have gone to someone whose candidacy was still alive, in a race decided by less than 3,800 votes. With RCV, their supporters’ second or third choices could have counted toward the outcome. 

    Read full article