NYC mayor election results: How does ranked choice voting work?

New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary election taking place Tuesday, June 24. The system allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference rather than pick just one.

Supporters of Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani cheer as they watch results come in at his primary election party, Tuesday, June 24, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)(AP)

Those who support ranked choice voting believe it builds consensus, promotes positive campaigning and allows voters to express a fuller range of opinions. Opponents, however, believe the system is too complicated and could lead to ballots being thrown out.

Here’s how ranked choice voting works

In this system, the number of candidates a voter can rank depends on the specific rules in an area. In New York City, as many as five candidates can be ranked in one race. 

Voters, however, are not required to fill their ballots. A voter who supports only one candidate can just pick that one person. However, should that candidate not get the most votes, that voter will have no say in the later rounds of counting.

The last-place candidate is eliminated after the votes are tabulated. Subsequently, ballots from voters who supported that candidate have the next choice counted. The counting continues if none of the candidates hit 50%, and eventually another last-place candidate is eliminated. The next-ranked choices on all those ballots in the next round are counted. This process continues until a candidate finally reaches majority support, and wins.

How long it takes to count the votes depends on where the election is. For instance, in New York City, the Board of Elections will post unofficial results from the first round of votes on election night.

Preliminary elimination rounds are then tabulated a week later, with officials posting an unofficial report, according to the elections board. With mail and affidavit ballots being processed, the results could change.

It often takes longer to project winners in this system as election authorities need to ensure each ballot counted before they know in what order they would eliminate last-place finishers. Counting and processing mail-in ballots, provisional votes and others can take time.