Civic Engagement Opportunities

We Power NYC:
Pledge to vote! Join NYC Votes and CUNY as they work to get 25,000 CUNY students ready to vote in 2021. When you sign up, you will receive election updates and reminders to help you stay engaged.

Use your power and vote. Take the pledge: https://nycvotes.nyccfb.info/we_power_nyc/

Why Vote in Local Elections?

You can have an impact over the allocation of resources and policies that directly affect your lives and communities.
Learn more: What You Need to Know Now About the 2021 Elections in New York City

Voting for the Mayor:

• The mayor is responsible for the administration and the delivery of local services (e.g., public safety, fire protection, public education, health care, sanitation) to city residents through city agencies.
• The mayor appoints numerous officials, including deputy mayors and commissioners who head city agencies.
• The City budget overseen by the mayor is the largest local budget in the United States.
• The City provides operating and capital funds for buildings to our community colleges and supports programs in senior colleges.

Learn more: What Does the Mayor of New York City Do? and Here’s What You Need To Know About The Current NYC Mayoral Contenders

Voting for the City Council Member in Your District:

• The New York City Council adopts the city budget that determines where money is disbursed each year and approves land use policies that affect the development and growth of the city and your neighborhood (housing, parks, stadiums, retail stores/malls).
• Adopted city local laws and budgets approved by the city council and mayor affect the welfare of our communities and our lives (e.g., Fair Fares, paid sick leave, right-to-record law enforcement encounters, pay equity laws for employment).

Learn more: Do You Know Who’s Running for City Council in Your District?

Voting for the City Comptroller in Your District:

• The city comptroller safeguards our city’s fiscal health, providing oversight over our tax dollars; roots out waste and fraud; and helps ensure city agencies are serving our needs effectively and efficiently. The comptroller reviews city purchasing contracts for integrity and compliance and enforces living wage laws for workers, laborers and mechanics employed on New York City public works projects and building service employees on city contracts and certain properties.

Learn more: What to Know About the 2021 City Comptroller’s Race in New York

Voting for the Public Advocate: 

• The public advocate serves as an ombudsman for city government, providing oversight for city agencies, investigating and responding to our concerns and complaints about city services and making proposals to address perceived shortcomings in those services. The public advocate also presides over the city council and makes appointments to several commissions and boards, including the planning commission which makes policy over growth and development in our communities.

Learn more: What You Need to Know About the Public Advocate Race in 2021

Voting for our Borough District Attorney (DA):

• The office of each county district attorney is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York State criminal laws. Each DA decides whether to bring criminal charges against an individual accused of a crime, to divert the accused to a program or treatment, or dismiss the case. The district attorney assists victims of crime and works with community stakeholders on crime prevention strategies to improve public safety and the quality of life in our communities.

Learn more: What You Need to Know About New York’s District Attorney Races in 2021

Ways to Register to Vote Remotely:

• Through CUNY Votes webpage or your college’s voter webpage
• Through  CUNY First system
• New York State Department of Motor Vehicles:  dmv.ny.gov
• NYC Votes turbovote platform:  //nycvotes.turbovote.org/?r=cuny
• Download a voter registration form (cunyvotes or college voter webpage)

Ranked Choice Voting (As Per CUNY.edu)

All 2021 NYC special and primary elections will use Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as a new voting system.

Why the change? 

More than 73% of NYC voters selected this system of voting through a 2019 ballot referendum. 

How does this work?

Now, with RCV:

• All NYC voters will vote for their top five candidates in order of preference
• Any candidate must win 51% of the vote to win an election

When no candidate in an election for a local office wins 51% of the vote:

• Votes are then counted in rounds
• Each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated
• If your highest-rated candidate is eliminated, your vote will move to your next highest-rated candidate
• Rounds will continue, eliminating candidates with the lowest votes, until a candidate receives 51% or more of votes

What are the benefits?

With this new system, a winning candidate better reflects voters’ preferences because they are able to rank and support multiple candidates. This system will also save NYC taxpayers millions of dollars because it prevents expensive runoff elections. Visit NYC Campaign Finance Board for more info.

Understanding Ranked Choice Voting in New York City

At a Glance:
Beginning in 2021, voters in New York City will have the option to rank their top 5 candidates for local primary and special elections for Mayor, Comptroller, Borough President and City Council, under a new system called Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). This method of voting will not be used during the general election or for any statewide, state or federal races.

The system seeks to promote democratic representation and produce winners of primary and special elections that receive more than 50 percent of the votes from their community. Under an RCV ballot, voters will have the ability to choose candidates in the order of preference (ranking the candidates). Once polls have closed, election officials will tally the votes, eliminating the candidates who receive the fewest number of first-choice rankings. The candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the first-choice rankings wins the election. Learn more about Ranked Choice Voting and Read Article.

Learn about Ranked-Choice Voting for NYC Local Elections: https://vote.nyc/page/ranked-choice-voting

In the News:
On Tuesday, December 8, 2020, six New York City Councilmembers from the Black, Latino and Asian Caucus, filed a lawsuit against the City’s Board of Elections seeking to stop the board from changing the City’s voting system to the ranked-choice method prior to a special election scheduled for February to fill a vacant City Council seat in eastern Queens—this will be the first time RCV will be used in the City. The Councilmembers argued that the board hasn’t done a good job at educating communities—especially minority and immigrant communities—about the new system. Read Article

In a three-page decision on December 16, 2020, Justice Carol Edmead from the State Supreme Court in Manhattan denied the Councilmembers’ request to delay the use of RCV in the upcoming special election. Justice Edmead’s decision comes prior to the mailing of military and overseas ballots scheduled to go out on Friday, December 18, 2020. “This Court is disinclined to take any action that may result in the disenfranchisement of even one voter or take any action that may result in even one voter’s ballot being nullified,” wrote Justice Edmead in her decision. The Councilmembers are expected to appeal this decision. Read Article

Testimony Before the City Council from NYC Campaign Finance Board: https://www.nyccfb.info/media/testimony/testimony-of-amy-loprest-and-eric-friedman-to-the-new-york-city-council-committee-on-governmental-operations/

2020 Election Day Turnout
More than 160 million Americans (including 8 million New Yorkers) voted in the 2020 presidential election, representing the highest voter turnout rate since 1900. 

Learn More About the Electoral College

The New York State Certified 2020 Election Results

The New York City Board of Elections Certified 2020 Election Results

CUNY Chancellor's Voting Message - While We Wait