‘Confusing To Learn, Easy In Practice’: Ranked-Choice Verdict

HARLEM, NY — When she first heard about New York City switching to ranked-choice voting for all primaries and special elections, Gwendolyn Lancaster thought the process would be too complicated.

In reality, registering her vote Tuesday was simpler than expected.

“Once they told us that I didn't have to do everybody, it works for me,” said Lancaster, who ranked four candidates for mayor at a poll site in Harlem.

Before voting today, Emily Robinson said she read news articles in an attempt to familiarize herself with the ranked-choice voting process.

“It was confusing to learn about but, in practice, pretty easy, the way they laid it out and everything,” said Robinson.

“I think it does give a little more control and say in who we get, especially in a field this large where it’s sort of a crap shoot. So I'm excited about it.”

After her first time using ranked-choice voting, Maria Meyer is a fan.

“I like ranked-choice voting because it lets you have multiple options,” said Meyer. “You don't have to just select one person.”

Passionate about voting rights, Nicholas Bates welcomes the new system. “I’m very into voting rights and what this could do for progressive across the nation if it's done right,” he said. “I think it gives candidates with maybe less money a bigger opportunity to make an impact. I think newcomers can also sneak in through ranked-choice voting.”

It wasn't just ranked-choice that caused problems Tuesday. For some, the time-old struggle of finding their correct polling sites hit, while others, like Samiyah De Freitas, walked into a different issue.

“There was an issue finding me in the system,” said De Freitas. “But everybody was very helpful.

"In regards to ranked-choice voting, I think it’s great in theory. It encourages people to learn about candidates other than their first choice and become more informed on the voting process.”

Maria Meyer had been prepared for ranked-choice voting for months after hearing about the changes. “I heard about it last general election on the news," she said.

Still, there is more about the process that needs to be cleared up, said Meyer.

“I still don't fully understand the process of how the winner will work,” said Meyer. “But I’m on board with the idea.”

“I believe the rollout process for this could’ve been better and they could’ve educated people about it more,” added De Freitas. “Personally, I didn’t know about ranked-choice voting until very recently and I had to ask other people about what it is and the benefits of voting this way.

'I feel like there was a lot of public outreach and campaigning from the candidates so I was able to stay informed about the election, yet I haven’t experienced many efforts to teach the public about the purpose and benefits of ranked-choice voting and I think many people may still not know what it is.”