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How New York could have avoided a nasty mayoral election

By November 2, 2025No Comments

| David Daley | Salon.com |

New York City’s mayoral election is limping to such an ugly finish that it’s almost hard to pick the most distasteful moment.

…would be quite a different race with RCV

It’s easy to see the difference. The primary was conducted with ranked choice voting (RCV), which encouraged civility and kindness. The general election is winner-takes-all, which incentivizes gloves-off aggression and all the negativity that billionaires can fund — all while giving voters less/fewer choice(s). The general election would be quite a different race with RCV. New Yorkers should make that happen next time.

The primary ended with togetherness and produced a majority winner in Mamdani. The general is a completely different story. It’s ending, predictably enough, in awfulness.

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