Meng Hosts Virtual Seminar on Ranked Choice Voting for Upcoming NYC Council District 24 Special Election in Queens

QUEENS, NY – Last night, U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Queens) held a virtual seminar on ranked choice voting for New York City Council District 24's special election which is scheduled to take place in Queens on February 2.

The event included remarks from Meng and Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY, a government watchdog organization. It also featured a presentation by Sean Dugar, the Education Campaign Program Director at Rank the Vote NYC which was founded to bring ranked choice voting to New York City, and now educates New Yorkers about this new voting system.

"New Yorkers voted to adopt ranked choice voting in 2019 and this upcoming District 24 special election will be the first time that it will be used in New York City," said Congresswoman Meng. "As it makes its debut, it is critical for Queens voters to be aware of this new type of voting system, and understand how the process works. I'm pleased to have presented this seminar to help educate constituents as they prepare to head to the ballot box for this election, and I thank Common Cause/NY and Rank the Vote NYC for participating."

"New Yorkers deserve elections that lift up our voices, and push candidates to campaign better," said Susan Lerner. "Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) is the simple solution that puts power back in the hands of the people where it belongs. That's why Common Cause/NY is proud to partner with Congressmember Meng to educate Queens voters about how RCV will transform our elections for the benefit of voters."

"Since voters chose to adopt Ranked Choice Voting, we've trained hundreds of campaigns and organizations, reaching tens of thousands of voters, and we are only going to ramp up our efforts in the coming days and months," said Sean Dugar. "We're so excited to partner with Congresswoman Meng and her team to educate voters who are headed to the polls in New York City's first Ranked Choice Voting election this week in Council District 24, and we're grateful to Congresswoman Meng's support to make sure voters know how to make their voice heard in the new system."

Queens Communities in Council District 24 include Kew Gardens Hills, Pomonok, Electchester, Fresh Meadows, Hillcrest, Jamaica Estates, Briarwood, Parkway Village, Jamaica Hills, and Jamaica.

Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates by preference instead of choosing just one candidate. Voters can choose first choice, second choice, third choice, fourth choice and fifth choice.

The seminar can be viewed here.