Demographic differences in understanding and utilization of ranked choice voting

Abstract

Objectives: New York City is the largest U.S. jurisdiction to use ranked choice voting (RCV). We examine New York and other U.S. cities using RCV to assess if there were different levels of understanding and utilization of RCV across demographic groups. Methods: We placed items on a survey conducted during the 2021 New York City RCV election that had been included in two previous surveys of different U.S. cities using RCV. Results: We find higher levels of reported understanding and rates of ranking multiple candidates in NYC than in other jurisdictions. We find no systematic differences by race/ethnicity in terms of reported understanding of RCV in NYC or the other samples. We also find no systematic association between age and reported understanding of RCV. Respondents with more education were more likely to report understanding RCV in each sample. People of color were less likely to report ranking multiple mayoral candidates in NYC and California, and respondents with more education were more likely to report ranking in two samples. Conclusions: Apart from these important differences in utilization, our search for race/ethnic differences largely produced null results, suggesting RCV may not produce bias in who engages with it.Ranked choice voting (RCV) has been presented as an improvement over the first-past-the-post, plurality elections. Some contend that when voters rank multiple candidates, polarization may be reduced as moderate candidates have increased opportunities to attract support (Horowitz 2004). Candidates from rival factions may also campaign differently, perhaps less negatively, in order to attract second preferences from their rival's supporters (e.g., Donovan, Tolbert and Gracey 2016; Kropf 2021; Reilly 2020 2018 Others note that RCV elections may attract more candidates, including women and people of color (Kimball and Anthony 2017), reduce costs by eliminating primaries (Richie et al. 2001), and eliminate This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

More Choices, More Problems? Ranked Choice Voting Errors in New York City

“…Voters in NYC headed to the ballot box on primary day to experience a new voting system, with differing levels of time and resources available for political engagement. Though some survey research indicates that voters of all races and ethnicities claimed to understand what RCV was (Donovan et al, 2022), like findings in other jurisdictions that adopted RCV, there are indications that voters may have varying degrees of success in using the new system, particularly during their initial encounter. An analysis of exit polls on the day revealed that wealthier, more educated, and white voters were more inclined to rank multiple candidates – which might be indicative of more familiarity with the system or candidates (Wendland and Carman, 2023).…”

“…Though some survey research indicates that voters of all races and ethnicities claimed to understand what RCV was (Donovan et al, 2022), like findings in other jurisdictions that adopted RCV, there are indications that voters may have varying degrees of success in using the new system, particularly during their initial encounter. An analysis of exit polls on the day revealed that wealthier, more educated, and white voters were more inclined to rank multiple candidates – which might be indicative of more familiarity with the system or candidates (Wendland and Carman, 2023). Bringing to bear the actual voting data on how the first time with RCV, I now describe how I test the data I use to test occurrences of ballot voiding over-votes and the relationship to assembly district voter characteristics.…”