New York City Elections

Kaylee · 8th June 2021, 06:01 PM

Do we have enough members from New York City to have a thread on the city's June primary elections?,

In my district alone these are the offices that are going to be on the Democratic primary ballot:

Mayor (12 candidates)
Public Advocate ( 3)
Comptroller (10)
District Attorney (8)

This doesn't include the borough presidents (5 in NYC for each of the boroughs), city council elections, and civil court elections.

What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/

Early voting starts on the 12th and the last day of voting is on election day.

It can always be a challenge to decide who to vote for but with ranked voting instead of selecting 5 politicians for 5 offices, one can choose up to 23 politicians for 5 offices (one office only has 3 candidates running vs 5). I'm finding that especially challenging and I admit to only starting to learn about many of the candidates as I've been super busy this year. However, I've never been a fan of the idea of someone running for a significant office with no experience of having held any elected position - so that is making the winnowing process easier for me. But it's a little scary to see how many people in that category are running for mayor...

BobTheCoward · 8th June 2021, 06:15 PM

Originally Posted by Kaylee

Do we have enough members from New York City to have a thread on the city's June primary elections?,

In my district alone these are the offices that are going to be on the Democratic primary ballot:

Mayor (12 candidates)
Public Advocate ( 3)
Comptroller (10)
District Attorney (8)

This doesn't include the borough presidents (5 in NYC for each of the boroughs), city council elections, and civil court elections.

What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/

Early voting starts on the 12th and the last day of voting is on election day.

It can always be a challenge to decide who to vote for but with ranked voting instead of selecting 5 politicians for 5 offices, one can choose up to 23 politicians for 5 offices (one office only has 3 candidates running vs 5). I'm finding that especially challenging and I admit to only starting to learn about many of the candidates as I've been super busy this year. However, I've never been a fan of the idea of someone running for a significant office with no experience of having held any elected position - so that is making the winnowing process easier for me. But it's a little scary to see how many people in that category are running for mayor...

Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself?

Stacyhs · 8th June 2021, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward

Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself?

Oh, good lord.

Kaylee · 8th June 2021, 06:48 PM

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward

Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself?

I think there's time if I use it wisely. At a minimum, I know enough to decide whether to vote for people who have held elected office for years, have a voting record, and have gone on record by various methods such as deciding what bills to sponsor.

How would you justify not trying at all?

BobTheCoward · 8th June 2021, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by Kaylee

I think there's time if I use it wisely. At a minimum, I know enough to decide whether to vote for people who have held elected office for years, have a voting record, and have gone on record by various methods such as deciding what bills to sponsor.

How would you justify not trying at all?

I have about four different takes to your question. I won't bother you with them and derail if you want this to focus on the specifics.

jrhowell · 9th June 2021, 08:39 AM

Originally Posted by Kaylee

What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/

From the sample:

Quote:

Rank up to 5 choices.
Only rank one candidate per column
Don’t rank any candidate more than once

Three simple instructions. What could go wrong?

I'm thinking that there will be a significant number of spoiled ballots.

Kaylee · 9th June 2021, 05:49 PM

Originally Posted by jrhowell

From the sample:

Three simple instructions. What could go wrong?

I'm thinking that there will be a significant number of spoiled ballots.

Maybe. I'm wondering if that issue will be covered in the news.

For what it's worth I'm pretty most of the spoiled ballots will be for one or some positions but not the entire ballot. Let's say a voter breaks rule # 2 for the mayor's position, but does everything else correctly. Their ballot will have no selection registered for mayor and the rest of their ballot will be counted as marked.

Let's say a voter breaks rule #3 and casts their vote for the same person in all 5 ranks for mayor. The voting machine is programmed to count the vote cast for mayor in the first rank and disregard the choices for the remaining 4 ranks. This mistake won't prevent the machine from attempting to count the votes cast for the other positions.

Yeah, i think there will be some partially spoiled ballots but not that many completely spoiled ballots.

ETA - There are more instructions elsewhere on the web site such as making sure to fill in the entire circle for your choice and not to use Xs or checkmarks. Using checkmarks instead of filling in the circle for all of your choices would definitely spoil the entire ballot, but that is not a new rule in NYC elections.

As an aside, I resent being expected to cast up to 23 votes for 5 positions as I don't think there are that many good candidates and it will be a lot of work to thoughtfully make 23 real choices. But other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out and what the voters reactions to the experience will be. As far as I know, it will be the first time ranked voting is used in NYC for a political election.

mumblethrax · 12th June 2021, 03:27 AM

NYC mayoral elections are always a bit grim, but this one is especially so. At least Andrew Yang seems to have tanked his early lead.

The addition of ranked choice voting is interesting, but eliminating off-year elections and permitting non-citizen voting would probably be more meaningful democratic reforms. Turnout in 2017 was a dismal 18%, and I doubt it will be much higher this time.

BobTheCoward · 12th June 2021, 05:33 AM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

NYC mayoral elections are always a bit grim, but this one is especially so. At least Andrew Yang seems to have tanked his early lead.

The addition of ranked choice voting is interesting, but eliminating off-year elections and permitting non-citizen voting would probably be more meaningful democratic reforms. Turnout in 2017 was a dismal 18%, and I doubt it will be much higher this time.

I have trouble complaining about the off year election thing. Why is turnout lower? If people just don't care as much, I'm not clear why you want those same people to vote.

mumblethrax · 12th June 2021, 06:03 AM

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward

I have trouble complaining about the off year election thing. Why is turnout lower?

Because it's an off-year election. Fewer high-profile races, less effort spent on broad turnout drives.

And this probably isn't a coincidence--the local party machine prefers it this way. They've resisted early voting reforms for decades for much the same reason.

In any case, I don't see any reason to accept the claim that I don't want the people who don't turn out to vote. It's premised on the long-debunked idea that non-voters are immutably disinterested.

BobTheCoward · 12th June 2021, 06:27 AM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

Because it's an off-year election. Fewer high-profile races, less effort spent on broad turnout drives.

And this probably isn't a coincidence--the local party machine prefers it this way. They've resisted early voting reforms for decades for much the same reason.

In any case, I don't see any reason to accept the claim that I don't want the people who don't turn out to vote. It's premised on the long-debunked idea that non-voters are immutably disinterested.

But why would you want the vote on Y to reflect the votes of people that wouldn't bother to vote for Y when Y is by itself?

mumblethrax · 12th June 2021, 09:24 AM

Originally Posted by BobTheCoward

But why would you want the vote on Y to reflect the votes of people that wouldn't bother to vote for Y when Y is by itself?

Because people are affected by the outcome of elections irrespective of whether they vote. It's better when turnout is higher for the same reason it's better to have democratic elections in the first place--it legitimizes outcomes on the standard liberal self-government account. It's a bad situation that our current mayor was re-elected with something like 14% of the eligible vote, particularly when so many New Yorkers aren't eligible to vote.

Puppycow · 23rd June 2021, 01:34 AM

Adams has a sizable lead after chaotic New York primary

Well Andrew Yang won't be the next mayor of New York.

There's still some counting left because it's ranked choice voting and nobody got an absolute majority on the first ballot. However, Eric Adams appears to have a sizable lead.

Quote:

NEW YORK — Eric Adams rode an anti-crime message to a commanding lead in the crowded race to replace outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, ousting former presidential contender Andrew Yang and holding off nearly a dozen other Democrats.

But under New York’s new ranked-choice voting system, the election now heads into an instant runoff that could last for weeks and keep the Brooklyn borough president from officially claiming his party’s nomination.

An "instant" runoff that could last for weeks.

And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too.

Analysis: Crime is up sharply in New York City, so a "tough on crime" political message seems to be a winning message even among New York City Democratic Primary voters. Adams is a former police officer.

mumblethrax · 23rd June 2021, 12:55 PM

Originally Posted by Puppycow

And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too.

Given that Curtis Sliwa won the Republican primary, I certainly hope so.

dudalb · 23rd June 2021, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

Given that Curtis Sliwa won the Republican primary, I certainly hope so.

Given the Silwa thinks law enforcement should have the right to be judge, jury and executioner, I agree.
it is interesting the Silwa, who has made no bones about despising Trump, (one of the very few things I can say in his favor) was introduced by Giuliani. Maybe even Giuliani sees that Trump is not going to hold public office again.

MarkCorrigan · 28th June 2021, 03:41 PM

Silwa was running against a man who claimed that Trump won the 2020 election. I think either way the GOP needs to lose.

Stacyhs · 28th June 2021, 04:01 PM

Originally Posted by Puppycow

Adams has a sizable lead after chaotic New York primary

Well Andrew Yang won't be the next mayor of New York.

There's still some counting left because it's ranked choice voting and nobody got an absolute majority on the first ballot. However, Eric Adams appears to have a sizable lead.

An "instant" runoff that could last for weeks.

And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too.

Analysis: Crime is up sharply in New York City, so a "tough on crime" political message seems to be a winning message even among New York City Democratic Primary voters. Adams is a former police officer.

Tell that to Joecool who "just wondered" if the new mayor will prioritize elimination of police and jails.

dudalb · 28th June 2021, 04:07 PM

I got a feeling Yang did poorly because of a backlash feeling that maybe electing people, however sucessful in business they might be, have never held elective office or a government position to a high, leadership position, might not be a good idea...

Norman Alexander · 28th June 2021, 08:25 PM

Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news.

mumblethrax · 28th June 2021, 09:08 PM

Originally Posted by dudalb

I got a feeling Yang did poorly because of a backlash feeling that maybe electing people, however sucessful in business they might be, have never held elective office or a government position to a high, leadership position, might not be a good idea...

Probably had more to do with him putting his foot in his mouth three times a day.

Donal · 29th June 2021, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news.

I don't know how litigious Australia is, but here in Freedomland, everything needs a healthy dose of CYA. Also, this is the first time it is being run in NYC. For some odd reason, they couldn't just go off of what Maine has already done.

dudalb · 29th June 2021, 12:56 PM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

Probably had more to do with him putting his foot in his mouth three times a day.

Yes, that also. But then, that might have added to a "not ready for the jpb' image.
I honestly think that playing the "I am an outsider who never held a responsible position in Government and therfore I deserve a top spot" card is going to be very hard after Trump.

Norman Alexander · 29th June 2021, 01:42 PM

Originally Posted by Donal

I don't know how litigious Australia is, but here in Freedomland, everything needs a healthy dose of CYA.

OK. So what's the likely problem? Our voting is on paper ballots counted by hand. Ancient and slow technology. We also have official scrutineers, observers in the USA, I think, hanging on every vote. And yet it can be done officially and accurately in hours. Have they not run training and practices beforehand for the poll workers?

Quote:

Also, this is the first time it is being run in NYC. For some odd reason, they couldn't just go off of what Maine has already done.

What do they do in Maine?

Mumbles · 29th June 2021, 03:55 PM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news.

Simply put, NYC’s elections board…well, they suck. They’ve sucked for a long time.

I wasn’t going to speak on this election, since NYC usually picks some goofball anyway, but there’s your answer.

dudalb · 29th June 2021, 04:19 PM

The whole electiion process for NYC Mayor seems incredibly convuluted.
Bring back Tammany Hall.

Stacyhs · 29th June 2021, 04:42 PM

Originally Posted by dudalb

The whole electiion process for NYC Mayor seems incredibly convuluted.
Bring back Tammany Hall.

The GOP is trying. And doing a bang up job.

Norman Alexander · 29th June 2021, 09:22 PM

Originally Posted by Mumbles

Simply put, NYC’s elections board…well, they suck. They’ve sucked for a long time.

I wasn’t going to speak on this election, since NYC usually picks some goofball anyway, but there’s your answer.

Let me get this right...

There's no permanent official body of some sort charged with overseeing NY state and city elections?

mumblethrax · 30th June 2021, 12:06 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

Let me get this right...

There's no permanent official body of some sort charged with overseeing NY state and city elections?

I believe Mumbles was referring to the mayor in your highlight there.

NYC does have a permanent official electoral body--the NYC Board of Elections. They generally suck at administering elections, however.

In support of this statement:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/n...gtype=Homepage

malbui · 30th June 2021, 12:12 AM

Originally Posted by dudalb

Given the Silwa thinks law enforcement should have the right to be judge, jury and executioner, I agree.

Well, given that NYC was supposed to be part of Mega-City 1 by the end of this century he's only getting ahead of the curve there.

Norman Alexander · 30th June 2021, 01:05 AM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

I believe Mumbles was referring to the mayor in your highlight there.

NYC does have a permanent official electoral body--the NYC Board of Elections. They generally suck at administering elections, however.

In support of this statement:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/n...gtype=Homepage

Paywalled for me.

But i take it someone said it was shambolic?

mumblethrax · 30th June 2021, 01:20 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

Paywalled for me.

But i take it someone said it was shambolic?

Quote:

Then, around 10:30 p.m., the board finally released a statement, explaining that it had failed to remove sample ballot images used to test its ranked-choice voting software. When the board ran the program, it counted “both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records,” the statement said. The ranked-choice numbers, it said, would be tabulated again.

Even after taking a week to release the preliminary ranked choice results, a giant error went undetected.

In general, the problem is that a) the way we run electoral boards/commissions/whatever in the US is stupid--we go for "bipartisan" rather than independent and b) in NYC in particular, the board of elections is a mess of political patronage and incompetence. Dudalb says "bring back Tammany Hall", but this is a direct consequence of Tammany Hall--critical jobs handed out as do-nothing favors to political supporters and relatives.

Hopefully this is a big enough scandal to finally clean house at the BoE. Maybe.

dudalb · 30th June 2021, 12:19 PM

I see some people here seem to be pretty weak in the humor department.

dudalb · 30th June 2021, 02:16 PM

Newest tactic by the Trumpers:Pointing at NYC's election problems and saying this smehow proves the November election was stolen.

BrooklynBaby · 30th June 2021, 06:11 PM

Well, a law and order candidate finished first, so they had to do something.

Puppycow · 30th June 2021, 06:20 PM

https://twitter.com/BOENYC

So Adams won in the end but it was closer than it seemed after the first round.

There was also apparently a snafu where pre-election test ballots were not purged from the system, resulting in the test ballots initially being included in the results. I think that has been rectified.

If you follow the link in the pinned tweet you can see how all 9 rounds of elimination went and how the vote totals changed each time. It took Adams until the final round to get over 50%.

Norman Alexander · 30th June 2021, 07:18 PM

Originally Posted by BrooklynBaby

Well, a law and order candidate finished first, so they had to do something.

...which was what? Count the votes according to the rules? Like they did last year?

Norman Alexander · 30th June 2021, 07:23 PM

Originally Posted by mumblethrax

Even after taking a week to release the preliminary ranked choice results, a giant error went undetected.

In general, the problem is that a) the way we run electoral boards/commissions/whatever in the US is stupid--we go for "bipartisan" rather than independent and b) in NYC in particular, the board of elections is a mess of political patronage and incompetence. Dudalb says "bring back Tammany Hall", but this is a direct consequence of Tammany Hall--critical jobs handed out as do-nothing favors to political supporters and relatives.

Hopefully this is a big enough scandal to finally clean house at the BoE. Maybe.

Yeah, that does indeed sound pretty shambolic.

I am surprised that an electoral commission is considered partisan, or even involved in any political party, in any way. Surely it should be a permanently employed group of independent professionals, who are fully trained in the business of running an election and tallying votes accurately according to the extant rules, and can demonstrate openly that it has been done so.

Stacyhs · 30th June 2021, 11:07 PM

Originally Posted by BrooklynBaby

Well, a law and order candidate finished first, so they had to do something.

Hmmm...now he's a "law and order candidate"? I thought he was going to eliminate police and jails. Make up your mind.

Donal · 1st July 2021, 06:49 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

OK. So what's the likely problem?

Machine politics and cronyism.

Quote:

Our voting is on paper ballots counted by hand. Ancient and slow technology. We also have official scrutineers, observers in the USA, I think, hanging on every vote. And yet it can be done officially and accurately in hours. Have they not run training and practices beforehand for the poll workers?

See above. There's little interest in changing how things are done since it will likely cost the entrenched powers time and energy to rig a new system in their favor. The irony is voters seemingly had no issue with Ranked Choice Voting itself and are just given more motivation to get rid of the old guard.

Quote:

What do they do in Maine?

A better job than NYC.

BrooklynBaby · 1st July 2021, 07:50 AM

Originally Posted by Norman Alexander

...which was what? Count the votes according to the rules? Like they did last year?

They "found" 135,000 test ballots had been included somehow so those were supposedly subtracted and Adams' lead went from significant to slim after the requisite ranked choice number crunching. Now they need to add over 100k absentee ballots.

8th June 2021, 06:01 PM	#1
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	New York City Elections Do we have enough members from New York City to have a thread on the city's June primary elections?, In my district alone these are the offices that are going to be on the Democratic primary ballot: Mayor (12 candidates) Public Advocate ( 3) Comptroller (10) District Attorney (8) This doesn't include the borough presidents (5 in NYC for each of the boroughs), city council elections, and civil court elections. What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/ Early voting starts on the 12th and the last day of voting is on election day. It can always be a challenge to decide who to vote for but with ranked voting instead of selecting 5 politicians for 5 offices, one can choose up to 23 politicians for 5 offices (one office only has 3 candidates running vs 5). I'm finding that especially challenging and I admit to only starting to learn about many of the candidates as I've been super busy this year. However, I've never been a fan of the idea of someone running for a significant office with no experience of having held any elected position - so that is making the winnowing process easier for me. But it's a little scary to see how many people in that category are running for mayor...
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	Last edited by Kaylee; 8th June 2021 at 06:02 PM.

8th June 2021, 06:48 PM	#4
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	Originally Posted by BobTheCoward Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself? I think there's time if I use it wisely. At a minimum, I know enough to decide whether to vote for people who have held elected office for years, have a voting record, and have gone on record by various methods such as deciding what bills to sponsor. How would you justify not trying at all?
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	Last edited by Kaylee; 8th June 2021 at 06:52 PM.

9th June 2021, 05:49 PM	#7
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	Originally Posted by jrhowell From the sample: Three simple instructions. What could go wrong? I'm thinking that there will be a significant number of spoiled ballots. Maybe. I'm wondering if that issue will be covered in the news. For what it's worth I'm pretty most of the spoiled ballots will be for one or some positions but not the entire ballot. Let's say a voter breaks rule # 2 for the mayor's position, but does everything else correctly. Their ballot will have no selection registered for mayor and the rest of their ballot will be counted as marked. Let's say a voter breaks rule #3 and casts their vote for the same person in all 5 ranks for mayor. The voting machine is programmed to count the vote cast for mayor in the first rank and disregard the choices for the remaining 4 ranks. This mistake won't prevent the machine from attempting to count the votes cast for the other positions. Yeah, i think there will be some partially spoiled ballots but not that many completely spoiled ballots. ETA - There are more instructions elsewhere on the web site such as making sure to fill in the entire circle for your choice and not to use Xs or checkmarks. Using checkmarks instead of filling in the circle for all of your choices would definitely spoil the entire ballot, but that is not a new rule in NYC elections. As an aside, I resent being expected to cast up to 23 votes for 5 positions as I don't think there are that many good candidates and it will be a lot of work to thoughtfully make 23 real choices. But other than that, I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out and what the voters reactions to the experience will be. As far as I know, it will be the first time ranked voting is used in NYC for a political election.
Kaylee Illuminator Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 4,280	Last edited by Kaylee; 9th June 2021 at 05:51 PM.

12th June 2021, 09:24 AM	#12
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by BobTheCoward But why would you want the vote on Y to reflect the votes of people that wouldn't bother to vote for Y when Y is by itself? Because people are affected by the outcome of elections irrespective of whether they vote. It's better when turnout is higher for the same reason it's better to have democratic elections in the first place--it legitimizes outcomes on the standard liberal self-government account. It's a bad situation that our current mayor was re-elected with something like 14% of the eligible vote, particularly when so many New Yorkers aren't eligible to vote.
	Last edited by mumblethrax; 12th June 2021 at 10:36 AM.

23rd June 2021, 01:34 AM	#13
Puppycow Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 27,249	Adams has a sizable lead after chaotic New York primary Well Andrew Yang won't be the next mayor of New York. There's still some counting left because it's ranked choice voting and nobody got an absolute majority on the first ballot. However, Eric Adams appears to have a sizable lead. Quote: NEW YORK — Eric Adams rode an anti-crime message to a commanding lead in the crowded race to replace outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio, ousting former presidential contender Andrew Yang and holding off nearly a dozen other Democrats. But under New York’s new ranked-choice voting system, the election now heads into an instant runoff that could last for weeks and keep the Brooklyn borough president from officially claiming his party’s nomination. An "instant" runoff that could last for weeks. And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too. Analysis: Crime is up sharply in New York City, so a "tough on crime" political message seems to be a winning message even among New York City Democratic Primary voters. Adams is a former police officer.
	__________________ A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. William Shakespeare Last edited by Puppycow; 23rd June 2021 at 01:37 AM.

8th June 2021, 06:15 PM	#2
BobTheCoward Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 22,442	Originally Posted by Kaylee Do we have enough members from New York City to have a thread on the city's June primary elections?, In my district alone these are the offices that are going to be on the Democratic primary ballot: Mayor (12 candidates) Public Advocate ( 3) Comptroller (10) District Attorney (8) This doesn't include the borough presidents (5 in NYC for each of the boroughs), city council elections, and civil court elections. What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/ Early voting starts on the 12th and the last day of voting is on election day. It can always be a challenge to decide who to vote for but with ranked voting instead of selecting 5 politicians for 5 offices, one can choose up to 23 politicians for 5 offices (one office only has 3 candidates running vs 5). I'm finding that especially challenging and I admit to only starting to learn about many of the candidates as I've been super busy this year. However, I've never been a fan of the idea of someone running for a significant office with no experience of having held any elected position - so that is making the winnowing process easier for me. But it's a little scary to see how many people in that category are running for mayor... Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself?

8th June 2021, 06:42 PM	#3
Stacyhs Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: United States Posts: 25,947	Originally Posted by BobTheCoward Should you vote if you have so little knowledge about the candidates? How do you know if starting now is enough time to sufficiently inform yourself? Oh, good lord.

8th June 2021, 10:07 PM	#5
BobTheCoward Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 22,442	Originally Posted by Kaylee I think there's time if I use it wisely. At a minimum, I know enough to decide whether to vote for people who have held elected office for years, have a voting record, and have gone on record by various methods such as deciding what bills to sponsor. How would you justify not trying at all? I have about four different takes to your question. I won't bother you with them and derail if you want this to focus on the specifics.

9th June 2021, 08:39 AM	#6
jrhowell Muse Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Tampa Bay, Florida Posts: 752	Originally Posted by Kaylee What may interest those who don't live in NYC is that 5 of the offices will have ranked choice voting for the first time -- up to 5 choices per office. Here's an example of how the board of elections explains ranked voting: Simple Ranked Vote Demo/ From the sample: Quote: Rank up to 5 choices. Only rank one candidate per column Don’t rank any candidate more than once Three simple instructions. What could go wrong? I'm thinking that there will be a significant number of spoiled ballots.

12th June 2021, 03:27 AM	#8
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	NYC mayoral elections are always a bit grim, but this one is especially so. At least Andrew Yang seems to have tanked his early lead. The addition of ranked choice voting is interesting, but eliminating off-year elections and permitting non-citizen voting would probably be more meaningful democratic reforms. Turnout in 2017 was a dismal 18%, and I doubt it will be much higher this time.

12th June 2021, 05:33 AM	#9
BobTheCoward Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 22,442	Originally Posted by mumblethrax NYC mayoral elections are always a bit grim, but this one is especially so. At least Andrew Yang seems to have tanked his early lead. The addition of ranked choice voting is interesting, but eliminating off-year elections and permitting non-citizen voting would probably be more meaningful democratic reforms. Turnout in 2017 was a dismal 18%, and I doubt it will be much higher this time. I have trouble complaining about the off year election thing. Why is turnout lower? If people just don't care as much, I'm not clear why you want those same people to vote.

12th June 2021, 06:03 AM	#10
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by BobTheCoward I have trouble complaining about the off year election thing. Why is turnout lower? Because it's an off-year election. Fewer high-profile races, less effort spent on broad turnout drives. And this probably isn't a coincidence--the local party machine prefers it this way. They've resisted early voting reforms for decades for much the same reason. In any case, I don't see any reason to accept the claim that I don't want the people who don't turn out to vote. It's premised on the long-debunked idea that non-voters are immutably disinterested.

12th June 2021, 06:27 AM	#11
BobTheCoward Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 22,442	Originally Posted by mumblethrax Because it's an off-year election. Fewer high-profile races, less effort spent on broad turnout drives. And this probably isn't a coincidence--the local party machine prefers it this way. They've resisted early voting reforms for decades for much the same reason. In any case, I don't see any reason to accept the claim that I don't want the people who don't turn out to vote. It's premised on the long-debunked idea that non-voters are immutably disinterested. But why would you want the vote on Y to reflect the votes of people that wouldn't bother to vote for Y when Y is by itself?

23rd June 2021, 12:55 PM	#14
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by Puppycow And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too. Given that Curtis Sliwa won the Republican primary, I certainly hope so.

23rd June 2021, 01:18 PM	#15
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	Originally Posted by mumblethrax Given that Curtis Sliwa won the Republican primary, I certainly hope so. Given the Silwa thinks law enforcement should have the right to be judge, jury and executioner, I agree. it is interesting the Silwa, who has made no bones about despising Trump, (one of the very few things I can say in his favor) was introduced by Giuliani. Maybe even Giuliani sees that Trump is not going to hold public office again.
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

28th June 2021, 03:41 PM	#16
MarkCorrigan ¡No pasarán! Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Слава Україні Posts: 11,126	Silwa was running against a man who claimed that Trump won the 2020 election. I think either way the GOP needs to lose.
	__________________ Naturalism adjusts it's principles to fit with the observed data. It's a god of the facts world view. -joobz When I give food to the poor, they call me a Saint. When I ask why the poor have no food, they call me a Communist. - Hélder Câmara

28th June 2021, 04:01 PM	#17
Stacyhs Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: United States Posts: 25,947	Originally Posted by Puppycow Adams has a sizable lead after chaotic New York primary Well Andrew Yang won't be the next mayor of New York. There's still some counting left because it's ranked choice voting and nobody got an absolute majority on the first ballot. However, Eric Adams appears to have a sizable lead. An "instant" runoff that could last for weeks. And of course this is still just the primary, but most people seem to think that whoever wins the Democratic primary will go on to win the general election too. Analysis: Crime is up sharply in New York City, so a "tough on crime" political message seems to be a winning message even among New York City Democratic Primary voters. Adams is a former police officer. Tell that to Joecool who "just wondered" if the new mayor will prioritize elimination of police and jails.

28th June 2021, 04:07 PM	#18
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	I got a feeling Yang did poorly because of a backlash feeling that maybe electing people, however sucessful in business they might be, have never held elective office or a government position to a high, leadership position, might not be a good idea...
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

28th June 2021, 08:25 PM	#19
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 11,976	Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news.
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

28th June 2021, 09:08 PM	#20
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by dudalb I got a feeling Yang did poorly because of a backlash feeling that maybe electing people, however sucessful in business they might be, have never held elective office or a government position to a high, leadership position, might not be a good idea... Probably had more to do with him putting his foot in his mouth three times a day.

29th June 2021, 09:54 AM	#21
Donal Illuminator Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4,797	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news. I don't know how litigious Australia is, but here in Freedomland, everything needs a healthy dose of CYA. Also, this is the first time it is being run in NYC. For some odd reason, they couldn't just go off of what Maine has already done.
Donal Illuminator Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4,797	__________________ SuburbanNerd A blog for making tech make sense

29th June 2021, 12:56 PM	#22
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	Originally Posted by mumblethrax Probably had more to do with him putting his foot in his mouth three times a day. Yes, that also. But then, that might have added to a "not ready for the jpb' image. I honestly think that playing the "I am an outsider who never held a responsible position in Government and therfore I deserve a top spot" card is going to be very hard after Trump.
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

29th June 2021, 01:42 PM	#23
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 11,976	Originally Posted by Donal I don't know how litigious Australia is, but here in Freedomland, everything needs a healthy dose of CYA. OK. So what's the likely problem? Our voting is on paper ballots counted by hand. Ancient and slow technology. We also have official scrutineers, observers in the USA, I think, hanging on every vote. And yet it can be done officially and accurately in hours. Have they not run training and practices beforehand for the poll workers? Quote: Also, this is the first time it is being run in NYC. For some odd reason, they couldn't just go off of what Maine has already done. What do they do in Maine?
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

29th June 2021, 03:55 PM	#24
Mumbles Philosopher Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 8,726	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander Why does this type of election need to take "weeks" to count? We have this here in Australia, and it can be done in hours, in time for trends to be on the evening news. Simply put, NYC’s elections board…well, they suck. They’ve sucked for a long time. I wasn’t going to speak on this election, since NYC usually picks some goofball anyway, but there’s your answer.
Mumbles Philosopher Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 8,726

29th June 2021, 04:19 PM	#25
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	The whole electiion process for NYC Mayor seems incredibly convuluted. Bring back Tammany Hall.
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

29th June 2021, 04:42 PM	#26
Stacyhs Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: United States Posts: 25,947	Originally Posted by dudalb The whole electiion process for NYC Mayor seems incredibly convuluted. Bring back Tammany Hall. The GOP is trying. And doing a bang up job.

29th June 2021, 09:22 PM	#27
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 11,976	Originally Posted by Mumbles Simply put, NYC’s elections board…well, they suck. They’ve sucked for a long time. I wasn’t going to speak on this election, since NYC usually picks some goofball anyway, but there’s your answer. Let me get this right... There's no permanent official body of some sort charged with overseeing NY state and city elections?
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

30th June 2021, 12:06 AM	#28
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander Let me get this right... There's no permanent official body of some sort charged with overseeing NY state and city elections? I believe Mumbles was referring to the mayor in your highlight there. NYC does have a permanent official electoral body--the NYC Board of Elections. They generally suck at administering elections, however. In support of this statement: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/n...gtype=Homepage
	Last edited by mumblethrax; 30th June 2021 at 12:23 AM.

30th June 2021, 12:12 AM	#29
malbui Beauf Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,313	Originally Posted by dudalb Given the Silwa thinks law enforcement should have the right to be judge, jury and executioner, I agree. Well, given that NYC was supposed to be part of Mega-City 1 by the end of this century he's only getting ahead of the curve there.
malbui Beauf Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 3,313	__________________ "But Master! Does not the fire need water too? Does not the mountain need the storm? Does not your scrotum need kicking?"

30th June 2021, 01:05 AM	#30
Norman Alexander Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Nov 2014 Location: Gundungurra Posts: 11,976	Originally Posted by mumblethrax I believe Mumbles was referring to the mayor in your highlight there. NYC does have a permanent official electoral body--the NYC Board of Elections. They generally suck at administering elections, however. In support of this statement: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/29/n...gtype=Homepage Paywalled for me. But i take it someone said it was shambolic?
	__________________ _{...our governments are just trying to protect us from terror. In the same way that someone banging a hornets’ nest with a stick is trying to protect us from hornets. Frankie Boyle, Guardian, July 2015}

30th June 2021, 01:20 AM	#31
mumblethrax Species traitor Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 3,264	Originally Posted by Norman Alexander Paywalled for me. But i take it someone said it was shambolic? Quote: Then, around 10:30 p.m., the board finally released a statement, explaining that it had failed to remove sample ballot images used to test its ranked-choice voting software. When the board ran the program, it counted “both test and election night results, producing approximately 135,000 additional records,” the statement said. The ranked-choice numbers, it said, would be tabulated again. Even after taking a week to release the preliminary ranked choice results, a giant error went undetected. In general, the problem is that a) the way we run electoral boards/commissions/whatever in the US is stupid--we go for "bipartisan" rather than independent and b) in NYC in particular, the board of elections is a mess of political patronage and incompetence. Dudalb says "bring back Tammany Hall", but this is a direct consequence of Tammany Hall--critical jobs handed out as do-nothing favors to political supporters and relatives. Hopefully this is a big enough scandal to finally clean house at the BoE. Maybe.
	Last edited by mumblethrax; 30th June 2021 at 01:34 AM.

30th June 2021, 12:19 PM	#32
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	I see some people here seem to be pretty weak in the humor department.
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

30th June 2021, 02:16 PM	#33
dudalb Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 55,927	Newest tactic by the Trumpers:Pointing at NYC's election problems and saying this smehow proves the November election was stolen.
	__________________ Pacifism is a shifty doctrine under which a man accepts the benefits of the social group without being willing to pay - and claims a halo for his dishonesty. Robert Heinlein.

30th June 2021, 06:11 PM	#34
BrooklynBaby Graduate Poster Join Date: Mar 2015 Posts: 1,122	Well, a law and order candidate finished first, so they had to do something.

30th June 2021, 06:20 PM	#35
Puppycow Penultimate Amazing Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Yokohama, Japan Posts: 27,249	https://twitter.com/BOENYC So Adams won in the end but it was closer than it seemed after the first round. There was also apparently a snafu where pre-election test ballots were not purged from the system, resulting in the test ballots initially being included in the results. I think that has been rectified. If you follow the link in the pinned tweet you can see how all 9 rounds of elimination went and how the vote totals changed each time. It took Adams until the final round to get over 50%.
	__________________ A fool thinks himself to be wise, but a wise man knows himself to be a fool. William Shakespeare