New York will switch to a new election system - rating vote

New York voters will be able to use the rating vote in local primary and special elections starting from 2021. This publication writes Vox.

Thus, New York was the last city that decided to switch to a rating vote, which was an important milestone in the reform of the voting system.

“The overwhelming majority of the city's voters voted for the corresponding decision on Tuesday, November 5,” the source notes.

“New York brings together 20 other cities across the country, as well as several states that have already started using this method in various elections. In particular, in Maine, for the first time in the federal elections in 2018, a rating vote was held, ”the newspaper said.

How rating voting works

Voting by rating works in many ways as its name implies. Instead of selecting only one candidate on the ballot, voters rank their top five in order of preference.

When the voting process is completed, votes are counted.

As scholar Lee Drutman explained, it goes like this: "A rating vote allows voters to mark their first candidate first, their second candidate second, their third choice third, and so on."

Moreover, each voter has only one vote, but can indicate his backup choice.

“If one candidate has an absolute majority of the rankings in the first place, this candidate wins, as in the traditional elections,” the message says.

However, if none of the candidates has a majority in the first round, the candidate in last place shall be excluded. The votes of the voters who indicated the losing candidate first are passed on to the candidate who finished second. This process continues until one candidate collects a majority of the votes.

Advantages and disadvantages of rating voting

Proponents of a rating vote say it has many advantages. Since candidates need wide support to win, they are forced to interact with a wider circle of voters.

In addition, studies have shown that alternative voting increases the number of minority and female candidates. This is partly due to the fact that the campaign on the rating of choice is less negative.

On the subject: In New York, they want to introduce rating voting in elections: what does it mean

In addition to changing the nature of campaigns, voting by rating also gives voters more freedom to study the entire list of candidates.

“Because of the way votes are counted, a person is free to choose their favorite option without worrying about acting as a 'spoiler' that contributes to the victory of an unfavorable or unpopular candidate,” the newspaper writes.

At the same time, opponents of rating voting claim that this complicates the process, both in terms of voting and for summing up.

“In general, the decision of New York to adopt such an electoral measure will serve as a good test case for voting by rating and will signal the growing dynamics of this voting reform,” the source concluded.