Ranked choice voting (RCV) is the system New York City uses to decide its local primary and special elections, and it will be on the ballot again for the citywide primary on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. If you have voted in a federal or state race in New York and never used RCV before, the ballot you are handed at a city primary looks different — instead of filling in one oval for a single candidate, you can rank up to five candidates in order of preference. This guide explains exactly how the system works, where it applies, where it does not, how votes are counted in rounds, and what every NYC voter should know before walking into a poll site or filling out a mail ballot.
What ranked choice voting is
Ranked choice voting is a method of voting in which voters can rank candidates in order of preference rather than choosing only one. In New York City, voters can rank up to five candidates for a single office. You can rank one, two, three, four, or all five — the choice is yours. According to the NYC Board of Elections, the system was adopted after a 2019 ballot measure in which 73.5 percent of city voters approved an amendment to the City Charter authorizing RCV for municipal primary and special elections.
The first city primaries to use ranked choice voting were held in 2021. The system returns for the next municipal primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026.
Which races use ranked choice voting
Ranked choice voting applies only to primary elections and special elections for five specific city offices:
- Mayor
- Public Advocate
- Comptroller
- Borough President
- City Council
Those are the offices listed by the NYC Board of Elections as covered by the City Charter amendment passed in 2019.
Which races do not use ranked choice voting
RCV does not apply to general elections in New York City, nor to a long list of state, federal, and judicial offices. According to the Board of Elections, the following elections are not subject to ranked choice voting:
- President
- Governor
- U.S. Senate
- U.S. Congress
- State Senate
- State Assembly
- District Attorney
- Surrogate
- Supreme Court Judges
- Civil Court Judges
In those races, the ballot reverts to the familiar “pick one” format. The simplest way to remember the distinction: ranked choice voting is for choosing who runs the city, in the round of voting that narrows the field. If the office is federal, state, judicial, or the November general election, it is a traditional single-choice ballot.
How to fill out an RCV ballot
On a ranked choice ballot, candidates are listed down the left side and the ranking columns run across the top: 1st choice, 2nd choice, 3rd choice, 4th choice, 5th choice. To cast your ballot:
- Find your most preferred candidate and fill in the oval in the “1st choice” column next to their name.
- If you have a second-preference candidate, find their row and fill in the oval in the “2nd choice” column.
- Continue down through your 3rd, 4th, and 5th choices, in any order you like.
There are four rules to keep in mind:
- You do not have to rank all five. You can rank one, two, three, four, or five candidates. Any blank ranking column is treated as a non-vote in that round.
- Choose only one candidate per column. Filling in two ovals in the same ranking column is called an “over-vote” and your vote in that rank and any later rank cannot be counted.
- Do not rank the same candidate more than once. Repeating a name does not help that candidate win. It only wastes a ranking slot.
- Fill in the oval completely. Partial marks may not be read by the scanner.
If you prefer the older method and only want to support one candidate, you can. Just fill in your 1st choice and leave the other columns blank. Your single vote will be counted just like it would in a non-RCV race, except that it will only count for your one candidate — it will not transfer if your candidate is eliminated.
How the votes are counted
Counting in a ranked choice race happens in rounds. Here is how the NYC Board of Elections describes the process:
- Round one. Every voter’s 1st choice is counted. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of all 1st-choice votes, that candidate is the winner and counting stops.
- If no candidate reaches 50 percent. The candidate in last place is eliminated. Every ballot that had the eliminated candidate ranked first is then re-counted for the voter’s next available choice.
- The rounds continue. In each successive round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their ballots transfer to the next-ranked surviving candidate on each ballot.
- Final round. The rounds continue until only two candidates remain. The candidate with the most votes between those two is the winner.
A few practical implications follow from this process. First, ranking a second, third, fourth, or fifth choice never hurts your first choice — your 1st-choice vote is the only one that counts in round one, and a lower-ranked vote is only counted if your higher-ranked candidate has already been eliminated. Second, your ballot can be exhausted: if all of the candidates you ranked are eliminated before the final round, your ballot no longer counts in subsequent rounds. Ranking more candidates is one way to reduce the chance of that happening, but it is not required.
When you will see the results
RCV results come out in waves. The Board of Elections explains the timeline this way:
- Election night. Unofficial first-choice results are released at the close of polls. These include first-choice votes from early voting, Election Day, and valid mail ballots already canvassed. They do not yet include affidavit ballots or the elimination rounds.
- One week later. Preliminary RCV elimination rounds are tabulated and an unofficial report is released. This tally includes mail ballots scanned before Election Day.
- Every week after that. Preliminary RCV elimination rounds are conducted and updated reports released every week until the election is certified.
- Certification. Final results are certified only after all ballots are counted — including early mail, absentee, military, affidavit, and emergency ballots — and after all cure deadlines for ballot defects have expired.
In a close race, the ranking of candidates can change between the election-night first-choice numbers and the final certified result. This is normal under RCV and is built into the published timeline.
Accessibility and write-in candidates
The ranked choice ballot is compatible with the AutoMark ballot marking device used at NYC poll sites, and an accessible version is available for absentee voters. On the AutoMark, each ranking is presented as a separate screen — choice 1, choice 2, choice 3, and so on — and you select one candidate per screen.
To vote for a write-in candidate, write the name on the “Write-in” line and fill in an oval to assign that candidate a ranking, just as you would with any other candidate on the ballot.
What to expect on June 23, 2026
The next election in which New York City voters will use ranked choice voting is the citywide primary on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. Per the NYC Board of Elections, polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day, and an early voting period runs from Saturday, June 13 through Sunday, June 21, 2026, with hours that vary by day.
RCV will apply to the primary contests for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council. Other races on the same ballot — for example, federal or state primaries that happen to coincide — will use the traditional single-choice format.
For more on the practical logistics of voting in 2026 — finding your poll site, the early voting calendar, and how to request a mail ballot — see our explainer on NYC polling sites, early voting, and mail ballots for 2026. For a deeper walkthrough of how ranked choice voting will play out specifically in next month’s primary, see our companion piece on ranked choice voting in NYC and how it works.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to rank five candidates?
No. You can rank as many or as few candidates as you like, from one to five. Leaving columns blank does not invalidate your ballot; it simply means your vote will not transfer once your ranked candidates are eliminated.
Does ranking a second choice hurt my first choice?
No. Only your 1st-choice candidate is counted in round one. Your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th choices are considered only if your higher-ranked candidate has already been eliminated.
Can I rank the same candidate more than once to help them win?
No. According to the Board of Elections, your vote can only count once for your 1st-choice candidate. Ranking the same candidate in multiple columns is the same as leaving those columns blank.
What happens if I give two candidates the same ranking?
That is called an “over-vote.” Your vote in that ranking column, and in every column after it, will not be counted. Your earlier rankings remain valid.
Does ranked choice voting apply to the general election in November?
No. Ranked choice voting in New York City applies only to primary and special elections for the five covered offices. The November general election uses a traditional single-choice ballot, as do all federal, state, and judicial races.
Which 2026 race will use ranked choice voting next?
The June 23, 2026 NYC primary election. Polls are open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day, with early voting from June 13 through June 21.
Sources
This article was written using the NYC Board of Elections as the primary source. The descriptions of how RCV works, which offices it covers, and how rounds are tabulated come directly from the Board of Elections pages on Ranked Choice Voting for NYC Local Elections and Upcoming Elections 2026. Voters with questions about their specific ballot, registration status, or poll site should contact the NYC Board of Elections at 1-866-VOTE-NYC (1-866-868-3692) or visit vote.nyc.
