NYC becomes the largest jurisdiction to choose ranked choice voting to eliminate runoff elections. Starting with the 2021 election, voters will choose and rank candidates on 1-5 scale, and it will apply to state and local elections, not the national elections.

As the name suggests, ranked-choice voting lets voters mark their first-choice candidate first, their second-choice candidate second, their third-choice candidate third, and so on. Each voter has only one vote but can indicate their backup choices: If one candidate has an outright majority of first-place rankings, that candidate wins, just like a traditional election.

But if no candidate has a majority in the first round, the candidate in last place is eliminated. Voters who had ranked that candidate first have their votes transferred to the candidate they ranked second. This process continues until a single candidate gathers a majority.