EXPLAINER: Ranked choice voting gets big test in NYC

NEW YORK (AP) — Ranked choice voting makes its debut in New York City's mayoral primary Tuesday in one of the most high-profile tests yet for a system gaining use in pockets across the U.S.

The system is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren't forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote.

Rather than pick just one candidate, voters get to rank several in order of preference. Even if a voter's top choice doesn't have enough support to win, their rankings of other candidates still play a role in determining the victor.

But the system is more complex than a traditional election, making it tough to forecast a winner. It could take longer to get results.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

In New York City's version, voters get to rank up to five candidates, from first to last, on their ballot.

If one candidate is the first choice of a majority of voters — more than 50% — that person wins the race outright, just like in a traditional election.

If nobody hits that threshold, ranked choice analysis kicks in.

Vote tabulation is done in rounds. In each round, the candidate in last place is eliminated. Votes cast ranking that candidate first are then redistributed to those voters' second choices.

That process repeats until there are only two candidates left. The one with the most votes wins.

There are 13 candidates on the ballot in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary. Only two candidates face off on the Republican side, making ranked choice a nonfactor.

WON'T THAT TAKE FOREVER?

All rounds of counting are done by computer in a process that takes very little time.

But absentee ballots complicate things. Because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, all people in New York are being allowed to vote by...