New York State Senate Sends Bill to Study Ranked-Choice Voting to Governor Kathy Hochul

Hochul has until October 29 to Act on the New York State Bill

On August 3, 2023, the New York State Senate passed a bill that would establish a commission to study the feasibility of implementing ranked-choice voting in New York State. The bill passed with a vote of 41 to 14, and now goes to Governor Kathy Hochul for her signature. If signed into law, the commission would have two years to study ranked-choice voting and issue a report with its findings and recommendations.

Ranked-choice voting is a system of voting in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. The candidate with the most first-choice votes wins, but if no candidate receives a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated and their votes are redistributed to the remaining candidates based on the voters' second-choice preferences. This process continues until one candidate receives a majority of the votes.

There are a number of potential benefits to ranked-choice voting. For example, ranked-choice voting can help to reduce the spoiler effect, in which a third-party or independent candidate can prevent a major party candidate from winning even if the majority of voters prefer the major party candidate. Ranked-choice voting can also help to increase voter turnout, as it gives voters more choice and makes it more likely that their vote will count.

Governor Hochul Has Until October 29 to Decide What to Do

Governor Hochul has until October 29, 2023, to decide whether to sign the bill into law. If she does not sign the bill by that date, it will die. If she does sign the bill into law, the commission will have two years to study ranked-choice voting and issue a report with its findings and recommendations. The commission's report will then be used to inform the legislature's decision on whether or not to implement ranked-choice voting in New York State.