Zohran Mamdani's Victory Shows Power Of Ranked Choice Voting. Here's How It Works

News18

05-07-2025

Last Updated:
The United States ranked choice voting (RCV) system is an electoral method where voters rank candidates by preference rather than selecting just one
Zohran Mamdani, the rising star of the American Left, engineered a massive political upset in New York City after he defeated his nearest rival, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, and won the Democratic primary for mayor by a strong margin.
According to a ranked-choice tabulation, the Queens assembly member reached 56 per cent of the vote in the third round of counting, giving him a win over Cuomo and nine other candidates.
An article in the Gothamist said the ranked-choice results showed that a campaign asking voters not to rank Cuomo anywhere on their ballots was effective, as Mamdani picked up another 99,069 votes from candidates who were eliminated.
So, what is ranked-choice voting?
The United States ranked choice voting (RCV) system is an electoral method where voters rank candidates by preference rather than selecting just one. Instead of picking a single candidate, voters list their first, second, third choices, and so on.
Here's how it works. Voters first rank candidates in order of preference on the ballot. If a candidate receives more than 50 per cent of the first-choice votes, they win outright. If no candidate gets a majority, the candidate with the fewest first-choice votes is eliminated. Votes for the eliminated candidate are then redistributed to the remaining candidates based on those voters' next preferences. This process of elimination and redistribution continues until one candidate has a majority.
What are the benefits?
• Ensures majority support since winners typically have broader support because they must earn more than 50 per cent through ranked preferences.
• It reduces the need for runoff elections by consolidating multiple election rounds into one.
• Voters can express preferences for more than one candidate without 'wasting" their vote.
What are the cons?
• Some voters find ranking candidates unfamiliar or complex, especially first-time users.
• Tabulation takes longer, particularly in races with many candidates and rounds.
• If a voter's ranked choices are all eliminated and no further preferences are marked, their ballot becomes 'exhausted" and stops counting.
• To work well, RCV needs strong outreach and explanation, especially in diverse or multilingual communities.
What are the other voting systems?
Plurality Voting (First-Past-the-Post): Each voter selects one candidate. The candidate with the most votes wins, even if they don't have a majority.
The key issues with this system are that a candidate can win with far less than 50 per cent support. Vote-splitting can allow unpopular candidates to win and this often discourages third-party or independent candidates.
Runoff Elections: If no candidate gets over 50 per cent of the vote, the top two finishers advance to a second election (a runoff), where voters choose between them. While this guarantees a majority winner, it is costly and time-consuming, often sees lower turnout in the runoff round, and delays results.
Approval Voting: Voters can vote for (i.e., 'approve of") as many candidates as they like. The candidate with the most approvals wins. This method is simple to understand and supports consensus candidates. However, it doesn't allow voters to indicate preference order and can lead to strategic voting.
Score Voting (Range Voting): Here, voters rate each candidate on a scale (e.g., 0–5 or 0–10). The candidate with the highest average (or total) score wins. This works as voters can show intensity of support but it is more complex to explain and tabulate.
How is ranked choice voting different from India's voting system?
In India, voters select only one candidate on the ballot. The candidate who receives the most votes wins, even if they don't have more than 50 per cent. This means that in multi-cornered contests, a candidate can win with just 30–40% of the vote, as long as it's more than anyone else. By contrast, in ranked choice voting, voters rank multiple candidates in order of preference (first choice, second choice, and so on).
In RCV, if no candidate gets a majority of first-choice votes, the one with the fewest votes is eliminated, and their votes are transferred to the next preferred candidate on those ballots. This process continues in rounds until a candidate crosses the 50 per cent threshold. So, while a majority is not required in India's system, it is essential in RCV, making the result more representative of overall voter support.
Additionally, vote redistribution is not part of India's electoral process, but it is central to how RCV works. This makes separate runoff elections unnecessary in RCV, because the 'instant runoff" is built into the counting process. In India, there are no runoffs, and elections are decided in a single round.
The spoiler effect—where two similar candidates split the vote, allowing a third, less popular candidate to win—is common in India's system. In RCV, however, this effect is greatly reduced, since votes for eliminated candidates can still help others based on voter preferences.
Lastly, strategic voting is often seen in India, where voters may choose a 'winnable" candidate over their genuine preference to avoid 'wasting" their vote. RCV reduces this pressure, allowing voters to honestly rank their favorites without fear of helping elect their least preferred option.
How did RCV help Mamdani?
In Mamdani's case, his strategic alliances played a crucial role. Candidates like Brad Lander and Adrienne Adams, who were eliminated in earlier rounds, had endorsed Mamdani, encouraging their supporters to rank him as their second choice. This endorsement strategy proved effective, as Mamdani received a substantial number of redistributed votes, propelling him to victory over Cuomo.
While Cuomo had strong name recognition and likely led in first-choice votes early on, he failed to gain enough second-choice support from voters whose first-choice candidates were eliminated. His controversial record and more centrist positioning made him a less likely fallback for progressive voters. As the rounds progressed, Mamdani closed the gap and eventually overtook Cuomo as votes were redistributed.
Mamdani's campaign focused on grassroots outreach, especially among younger voters, immigrants, and working-class communities—groups that may have felt more energized by RCV. These voters could confidently rank Mamdani first without worrying about 'wasting" their vote, since their ballot would still count toward other candidates if he were eliminated (which he wasn't).
About the Author
Apoorva Misra
Apoorva Misra is News Editor at News18.com with over nine years of experience. She is a graduate from Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College and holds a PG Diploma from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. S...Read More
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tags :
Andrew Cuomo New York United states Zohran Mamdani
Location :
New York, United States of America (USA)
First Published:
July 05, 2025, 17:26 IST
News explainers Zohran Mamdani's Victory Shows Power Of Ranked Choice Voting. Here's How It Works