Voters are split on the new voting system for today's primary elections

After weeks of buildup, it is finally primary election day, and polls are now open.

News 12 Staff

Jun 22, 2021, 5:19 PM

Updated 1,209 days ago

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Headline: Voters are split on the new voting system for today's primary elections.
After weeks of buildup, it is finally primary election day, and polls are now open. All day, News Yorkers will be casting their ballots to help decide party nominations for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president and city council.
This year, there are plenty of competitive races to choose from, only adding to the importance of the new way people are voting today. This is the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting in which New Yorkers will rank up to five choices for each race.
Voters News 12 spoke to this morning are giving the new system mixed reviews.
"It gives you a choice to make either one, two or three. So, you have more of a choice now, and I like that," says Denise Gee.
"It just makes it more confusing for folks. That's what I feel like. And people do not follow instructions, so it doesn't help the voting system, I think it makes it more complicated," Denise Barrows adds.
Due to the ranked choice voting process, it’s not expected that many races will be called tonight. In terms of the Democratic mayoral race, the city has already said it will be at least two weeks.