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New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary election Tuesday, a system that takes some explaining, even for New Yorkers who have used it before. Voters' understanding of how ranked choice works could play a role in which candidate comes out on top in a race that features former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani and several other current and former public officials, including City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and City Comptroller Brad Lander, who was arrested last week at an immigration court. The system is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren't forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote. Rather than pick just one candidate, voters get to rank several in order of preference. Even if a voter's top choice doesn't have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a role in determining the victor. The system is more complex than a traditional election, making it tough to forecast a winner. It could also take longer to get results. How does it work? In New York City's version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on the ballot. If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters — more than 50% — that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election. If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in. Vote tabulation is done by computer in rounds. After the first round, the candidate in last place — the candidate ranked No. 1 by the fewest amount of people — is eliminated. The computer then looks at the ballots cast by people who ranked that candidate first, to see who they ranked second. Those people's votes are then redistributed to their second choices. That process then repeats. As more candidates are eliminated, voters' third, fourth and even fifth choices could potentially come into play. Rounds continue until there are only two candidates left. The one with the most votes wins. Eleven candidates are on the ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams isn't one of them. He's a Democrat but is running as an independent. The Republican Party has already picked its nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. How long will this take? The computerized process of tabulating votes takes little time, but it doesn't start right away. Polls close at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Within a few hours, preliminary results should give a picture of how the candidates are doing based on voters' first choices. The ranked choice tabulations, however, won't start until July 1 because the city needs to wait for the arrival of mail-in ballots. The July 1 tabulation could potentially give a clear picture of who won, but the result won't be official. Further rounds of ranked choice analysis will be done as additional absentee ballots come in until the board certifies the election July 15. This will be the second time New York City has used ranked choice in a mayoral primary. The first time, in 2021, things went haywire when elections officials neglected to clear test data from the tabulation program. That led to an inaccurate vote tally being reported until officials realized the error. Officials are hoping things go smoother this time. Why do people like ranked choice? One benefit is that nobody 'wastes' their vote by picking an unpopular candidate as their first choice. Voters can rank someone they like No. 1, even if they suspect the candidate doesn't stand a chance. If that person is eliminated, voters still get a say in who wins based on their other rankings. Another benefit is that it's tough for someone to get elected without broad support. In a traditional election, it's possible for someone with fringe political views to win in a crowded field of candidates, even if they are deeply disliked by a majority of voters. That's theoretically less likely in a ranked choice system. A candidate could get the largest share of first-choice votes but still lose to someone who is the second or third choice of a large number of people. What are the negatives? The system is tough to grasp. It requires voters to do more research. It also makes races less predictable. Transparency and trust are also potential problems. Ordinarily, candidates, the public and news organizations can see votes coming in, precinct by precinct, and know exactly who is leading and where their support comes from. Under the ranked choice system, the process of redistributing votes is done by computer. Outside groups will have a harder time evaluating whether the software sorted the ranked votes accurately. That's a challenge for news organizations, like The Associated Press, that analyze vote tallies and attempt to report a winner before the count is complete. There may be instances when candidates who seem to have a comfortable lead in first-place votes on election night lose because relatively few voters rank them as their second or third choice. That could lead to people questioning the results. David B. Caruso, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Associated Press

an hour ago

Associated Press

New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary election Tuesday, a system that takes some explaining, even for New Yorkers who have used it before. Voters' understanding of how ranked choice works could play a role in which candidate comes out on top in a race that features former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, progressive upstart Zohran Mamdani and several other current and former public officials, including City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and City Comptroller Brad Lander, who was arrested last week at an immigration court. The system is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren't forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote. Rather than pick just one candidate, voters get to rank several in order of preference. Even if a voter's top choice doesn't have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a role in determining the victor. The system is more complex than a traditional election, making it tough to forecast a winner. It could also take longer to get results. How does it work? In New York City's version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on the ballot. If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters — more than 50% — that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election. If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in. Vote tabulation is done by computer in rounds. After the first round, the candidate in last place — the candidate ranked No. 1 by the fewest amount of people — is eliminated. The computer then looks at the ballots cast by people who ranked that candidate first, to see who they ranked second. Those people's votes are then redistributed to their second choices. That process then repeats. As more candidates are eliminated, voters' third, fourth and even fifth choices could potentially come into play. Rounds continue until there are only two candidates left. The one with the most votes wins. Eleven candidates are on the ballot in the Democratic mayoral primary. Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams isn't one of them. He's a Democrat but is running as an independent. The Republican Party has already picked its nominee, Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa. How long will this take? The computerized process of tabulating votes takes little time, but it doesn't start right away. Polls close at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Within a few hours, preliminary results should give a picture of how the candidates are doing based on voters' first choices. The ranked choice tabulations, however, won't start until July 1 because the city needs to wait for the arrival of mail-in ballots. The July 1 tabulation could potentially give a clear picture of who won, but the result won't be official. Further rounds of ranked choice analysis will be done as additional absentee ballots come in until the board certifies the election July 15. This will be the second time New York City has used ranked choice in a mayoral primary. The first time, in 2021, things went haywire when elections officials neglected to clear test data from the tabulation program. That led to an inaccurate vote tally being reported until officials realized the error. Officials are hoping things go smoother this time. Why do people like ranked choice? One benefit is that nobody 'wastes' their vote by picking an unpopular candidate as their first choice. Voters can rank someone they like No. 1, even if they suspect the candidate doesn't stand a chance. If that person is eliminated, voters still get a say in who wins based on their other rankings. Another benefit is that it's tough for someone to get elected without broad support. In a traditional election, it's possible for someone with fringe political views to win in a crowded field of candidates, even if they are deeply disliked by a majority of voters. That's theoretically less likely in a ranked choice system. A candidate could get the largest share of first-choice votes but still lose to someone who is the second or third choice of a large number of people. What are the negatives? The system is tough to grasp. It requires voters to do more research. It also makes races less predictable. Transparency and trust are also potential problems. Ordinarily, candidates, the public and news organizations can see votes coming in, precinct by precinct, and know exactly who is leading and where their support comes from. Under the ranked choice system, the process of redistributing votes is done by computer. Outside groups will have a harder time evaluating whether the software sorted the ranked votes accurately. That's a challenge for news organizations, like The Associated Press, that analyze vote tallies and attempt to report a winner before the count is complete. There may be instances when candidates who seem to have a comfortable lead in first-place votes on election night lose because relatively few voters rank them as their second or third choice. That could lead to people questioning the results.

Oil prices jump after U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities

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2 hours ago

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Oil prices jump after U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities

Oil prices jumped and stock futures slipped Sunday evening, indicating concern among investors about the possibility of economic fallout from the ongoing unrest in the Middle East following U.S. strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities. The major focus is on oil. Iran remains a major international oil supplier, and it also sits on the Strait of Hormuz, a heavily trafficked waterway in the Persian Gulf that is a key transit channel for about one-fifth of the world's oil supply. Concerns centered on whether Iran would begin limiting or shutting down access to the strait. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that closing the strait would be tantamount to 'economic suicide' for Iran and called on China, Iran's top trading partner, to head off any attempt by Iran to affect traffic. U.S. and global oil benchmark prices opened up 4% Sunday evening, underscoring the concerns about what the conflict means for the world's oil supplies. Those gains had eased slightly by 9 p.m. Sunday. Oil prices already gained about 3% last week in the wake of Israel's initial strikes against Iranian targets and Iran's retaliatory missile attacks. Stocks also slid Sunday. S&P 500 futures contracts opened about 0.6% in the first hour of trading, while Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell about 250 points, or 0.6%. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.7%. Like oil, they had pared those opening losses somewhat by 9 p.m. U.S. markets officially open at 9:30 a.m. ET Monday. 'Should oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz be affected, we could easily see $100 oil' or an increase in U.S. gas prices by 75 cents per gallon, Andy Lipow, president of the consulting firm Lipow Oil Associates, said in a note to clients Sunday. In a worst-case scenario in which oil prices rose to at least $120 a barrel, U.S. gas prices would increase as much as $1.25 per gallon, Lipow said. In a follow-up email, Lipow said that even if the strait does not officially close, any action by a tanker company to pre-emptively reduce its footprint there represents 'a de facto supply disruption.' Iran's state-owned media reported that Iran's parliament backed closing the strait — but that the final decision lies with Iran's national security council, according to the report. Any move by Iran to alter traffic in the strait could also hurt its own economy — particularly commerce with China. On Sunday, a department of the U.K. Royal Navy said it observed 'electronic interference in the Strait of Hormuz.' At least two massive supertankers that had entered the strait were reported to have made U-turns. Marine tracking websites also showed the vessels turning about halfway through the strait. 'I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,' Rubio said in an interview on Fox News. China is Iran's most important oil customer, and they maintain friendly relations. Iran may still be assessing the ultimate damage to its nuclear facilities as it contemplates its next move. The International Atomic Energy Agency said Sunday that while it had confirmed that the Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan sites had been hit, it was not immediately possible to assess the damage at the Fordo site. Until last week, U.S. stocks had been enjoying a substantial, if volatile, recovery from the lows following President Donald Trump's reciprocal tariffs announcement in April. That momentum reversed after Israel announced last weekend it had struck key Iranian military and nuclear targets, prompting retaliatory missile strikes on Israeli targets by Iran. JPMorgan analysts said Sunday that investors had voiced concerns to them last week that the Iran-Israel conflict would spread, 'and those concerns have been materialized.' 'Trump's statement that this might be the only US attack or might begin a series of attacks brought us little certainty,' the analysts added in a note to clients. 'Moreover, we do not see an obvious route to a political settlement to the military conflict, which makes us think the conflict, like the one in Gaza, could last longer than many investors think.' Year to date, the S&P 500 is up less than 2%. This article was originally published on

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New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

Oil prices jump after U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities

Rubio condemns assassination attempt on Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe

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New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary. Here's how it works

Oil prices jump after U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear facilities

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