Tag: New York City

Mapping the repeal of proportional representation in New York City

I may have more to say about this later.

Two sorts of hypotheses might explain the variation. One concerns third-party strength (Labor, Liberal, Communist). But ecological inference suggests a divided Labor Party!

The other sort concerns politics of urban renewal. This may help explain the pockets of opposition in Bronx and Brooklyn. Also in the book, I analyze the City Council roll-call record. Those data suggest a faction of the Republican Party feuding with the O’Dwyer (D) administration and other Republicans on budget matters.

Another point worth mentioning: this was one of few repeals (the only?) that increased assembly size. So, there may be a counterintuitive representation story too.

Feel free to comment if anything strikes you.

New York City is the largest rollout of ranked ballots in human history

More on it soon. For now, the data.

Jurisdictions not included are: other Progressive Era adoptions (hard to imagine those populations being bigger), U.S. adoptions since late April 2021 (ditto), adoptions for military/overseas voters (ditto and see link), and state/provincial/municipal adoptions in other countries (ditto).

For various reasons, population does not reflect the pool of eligible voters.

Newspaper positions on #YesOn1 (RCV in NYC)

Next month, New York City voters will decide on Question 1. This would establish the Alternative Vote for party primaries and special elections to the offices of Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council. It also would mandate that Council redistricting be completed by the time that candidates can begin collecting signatures. Finally, it would extend the period for early voting.

There has not been much visible opposition. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle has a good, short summary of the charter review process.

Historically, the local media have been important in such matters. Therefore, it is useful to compile newspapers’ positions on the measure. This is not a systematic survey — just the result of an hour’s Google search. I may update the post as new information appears.

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