Voters questioning clarity as some endorsees remain silent on their chosen NYC candidates.
In the midst of the Democratic primary for mayor in New York, endorsements are being made rapidly before voters cast their ballots. However, unranked endorsements, such as those made by Brooklyn Rep. Nydia Velázquez and six other Brooklyn Democrats who endorsed Adrienne Adams, Brad Lander, and Zohran Mamdani without ranking them, might create confusion in the ranked-choice voting (RCV) system.
John Kaehny, executive director of Reinvent Albany, noted that RCV is designed to encourage alliances or co-endorsements, but this hasn't been fully observed in New York yet. Kaehny also stated that complaints about confusion due to multiple endorsements have not been seen since the introduction of ranked-choice voting.
Unranked endorsements occur when voters or organizations endorse candidates without specifying a ranked order of preference among multiple candidates. In RCV systems, such unranked endorsements might create confusion if voters are unsure how to express their preferences or interpret endorsements lacking clarity about rankings.
Research on RCV highlights that voter confusion can arise from complexity in ballots and ambiguity in organizational or public endorsements. When endorsements are unranked, voters might be uncertain whether to rank all endorsed candidates equally or choose one as a higher preference, which can affect ballot validity or strategic voting behavior. This confusion can reduce the effectiveness of RCV by increasing ballot errors or undervaluing voter intent.
The Working Families Party initially endorsed four candidates without ranking them in March, but later ranked their choices and added a fifth candidate. Assembly Member Jessica González-Rojas endorsed four candidates for mayor this week, ranking Brad Lander and Zohran Mamdani as her top choices and also ranking Adrienne Adams.
It's important to note that a voter's ballot will be discarded if they mark more than one candidate as a No. 1 choice in the RCV system. City Council Member Sandy Nurse expressed concern about unranked endorsements, stating that there is no such thing as a co-number 1 rank.
Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, suggested that ideal endorsements for RCV should include internal rankings, but it's possible to leave the ranking up to the voter. Sam Raskin, campaign spokesperson for Scott Stringer, stated that Stringer "wasn't aware of the creation or distribution of this graphic" and that he always supports ranked-choice voting.
The ranked-choice voting system allows voters to choose up to five candidates in order of preference. Close to 90% of voters in the 2021 New York mayoral primary ranked more than one candidate, but only 46% of Democrats utilized all five of their ranking options.
Empirical studies on voter behavior and endorsement effects in RCV contexts would be needed for precise measurement, but the theoretical risk of confusion is recognized in voting system literature. If you want, I can help locate more targeted research or empirical studies on this topic.
[1] For more information on complexities and paradoxes arising from ballot rankings and the importance of dominant candidate pairs in other RCV systems, refer to the 2025 arXiv paper on Australian voting.
In the world of politics and policy-and-legislation, unranked endorsements in the ranked-choice voting (RCV) system can create confusion among voters, as they might be uncertain about how to express their preferences or interpret endorsements lacking clarity about rankings. This confusion might increase ballot errors, undervalue voter intent, or affect strategic voting behavior, potentially reducing the effectiveness of RCV.
Given the complexities and potential paradoxes associated with ballot rankings in RCV systems, it would be beneficial for endorsements to include internal rankings to guide voters, although it's also possible to leave the ranking up to the voter for individual preference.
