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Do you believe that ranked choice voting has made campaigning more negative? [1]
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Date: 2025-06-30
This year’s New York City mayoral primaries have been filled with sharp elbows, aggressive messaging, and a growing trend that’s hard to ignore. Watching the campaigns unfold, one of our hosts couldn’t help but notice that much of the conversation has added not what the candidates will do but about who voters shouldn’t support.
From his perspective, the tone of the campaign has become increasingly negative. Rather than candidates explaining why they’re the best choice, many are concentrating their energy on convincing voters who not to rank. This is especially evident in the race between Cuomo and Mamdani, where coalitions of candidates seem to have formed not to promote each other, but to unite against a common rival. He’s even seeing attack ads that don’t end with “vote for me”—they just tell you who not to vote for. That’s a bit different from normal
For those who may still be unclear, here’s a quick rundown: Ranked choice voting (RCV) allows New Yorkers to rank up to five candidates in order of preference in primaries and special elections. If no candidate secures a majority of first-choice votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and those votes are redistributed based on voters’ next choices. This process repeats until one candidate has a majority. The system was introduced to reduce the toxicity of elections by encouraging candidates to appeal to a wider base, including their opponents’ supporters, since second- and third-choice votes can be decisive.
But has it worked that way? Instead of fostering a more positive, cooperative atmosphere, ranked choice voting may be pushing candidates to form strategic alliances with the primary goal of shutting down the competition. Is the structure itself unintentionally fueling a more negative environment? The idea was that RCV would make candidates reach across the aisle and speak to a broader coalition. Instead, it seems some candidates are spending more time telling voters who to avoid rather than why they’re worthy of support.
What do you think?
Watch the full discussion on this week’s Nuance.
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