Proposed Res. No. 4-A
Resolution calling on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.7013, which would require instant run-off voting in New York City primary elections for the office of Mayor, Comptroller and Public Advocate.
By Council Members Garodnick, Brewer and Dickens
Whereas, New York State Election Law requires that there be a run-off election for New York City primaries in cases where no candidate for the Democratic or Republican nomination for Mayor, Comptroller or Public Advocate receives forty percent or more of the vote; and
Whereas, Conducting run-off elections are expensive, create numerous logistical problems, and are often less representative of voter sentiments due to low turnout; and
Whereas, In the run-up to 2013 New York City local elections, the New York City Board of Elections ("the Board") concluded there was a high probability there would be a run-off election in highly competitive Democratic primaries for Mayor and Public Advocate; and
Whereas, The Board also concluded that due to the short time period between the primary and run-off, it would be unable to use its electronic voting system and would instead have to return to using lever voting machines which have a faster turnaround time, but are more prone to breakdown and do not leave an auditable voting record; and
Whereas, Following the primary election, it was determined that a run-off would be necessary because no candidate in the Public Advocate race received more than forty percent of the vote; and
Whereas, The cost of the run-off was approximately $13 million and less than half the number of people voted in the run-off election for Public Advocate as voted in the primary; and
Whereas, This is a wasteful use of resources requiring the City to maintain two separate voting systems for elections which are less representative, and in cases of closely contested elections, creates a greater risk of crisis whereby a winner is unable to be certified in time for the run-off or general election; and
Whereas, A.7013, currently pending in the New York State Assembly, would replace the run-off election for Mayor, Comptroller and Public Advocate with an instant run-off system in which voters rank their preferences, and if no candidate gets more than fifty percent of the vote, the two top vote getters are allocated the votes of the ballots where they rank higher than their opponent; and
Whereas; Instant run-off voting has already been instituted in many large US cities, including San Francisco, Oakland, Minneapolis, Memphis, Saint Paul, and Santa Fe, and has generally been acknowledged as a more representative system that avoids the waste associated with holding separate run-off elections; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on the New York State Legislature to pass and the Governor to sign A.7013, which would require instant run-off voting in New York City primary elections for the office of Mayor, Comptroller and Public Advocate.
AM
11/6/2013
LS#7886