June 25, 2025 – Meredith Sumpter, FairVote president and CEO, shared the following statement on initial results in New York City’s ranked choice voting primary: 

“Ranked choice voting helped deliver a different kind of campaign in New York City – one that Zohran Mamdani called ‘the politics of the future’ as he stood on stage with opponent Brad Lander at his victory party last night. Instead of tearing each other down, candidates criss-crossed the city together and campaigned alongside one another on issues important to voters.

“Because of ranked choice voting, voters got more choice and more competition. The city will get a majority nominee without a costly, low-turnout July runoff. 

“RCV may not have changed the outcome, but it changed the campaign. The energetic, ever-present, media-savvy campaign that rose from 1% in the polls used RCV to build a broad coalition and share a positive vision with more voters. The favorite, who by all accounts ran a poor campaign, seemed to ignore RCV. 

“It’s not just the mayoral outcome: in its first use of RCV in 2021, New York City saw its highest turnout since 1989 – turnout went even higher yesterday. In the first use of RCV, voters elected the city’s first-ever majority-women council – they are poised to do it again.

“Voting is becoming ranking in our nation’s largest city. Just as it has in dozens of cities and states, ranked choice voting in New York is delivering more choice and voice for voters, better campaigns, and more representative outcomes.”

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FairVote is a nonpartisan organization seeking better elections for all. We research and advance voting reforms that make democracy more functional and representative for every American.