The large field failed to be culled, in part, because changes in the city’s campaign finance program in 2018 enabled candidates to stick around well past their campaign’s expiration date. Candidates now receive $8 in public funds for every $1 they raise, up from a 6-to-1 ratio, giving them more cushion to keep their operations running.
The city’s campaign finance board, which also increased the maximum matchable amount for citywide offices, said this election marked the highest public financing payout in city history.
The program’s expansion was meant to increase the impact of small-donor contributions over interests’ high-dollar donations in a way that would allow more diverse candidates a chance in the race. But the result has also meant low-polling candidates can keep operations going long after sinking in the polls.
Ranked-choice voting was also meant to give power to candidates with smaller warchests and less name recognition. But one side effect is that long-shot candidates end up sticking it out to the end on the hope that even if they aren’t voters’ top pick, they could earn enough second-choice votes to propel them to a win.
Come-from-behind wins, though, are rare, happening just 15 times in the 375 ranked-choice elections in the U.S. since 2004, according to data compiled by Fair Vote. Of those, the candidate who was in second place after the first round of tallies ended up winning 13 times and the third-place candidate only twice.
There’s a chance New York could defy those odds, as polls show no candidate with more than a quarter of support in the first round. A Marist College poll this month found that Adams would likely win the first round and eventually the election—but only after 12 rounds of runoff tabulations.
With so many contenders, it makes it harder for candidates to cut through the noise. At the last televised debate of the election held this week, the eight Democratic candidates on stage spoke over each other as they struggled to stand out.
And the lack of in-person campaigning during much of the pandemic meant that New Yorkers haven’t had a good chance to get to know many of the candidates.
“Even though the election is happening in the background, so many New Yorkers are dealing with really heavy issues,” said political strategist Tara Martin. “People are struggling with high crime rates, unemployment, hunger, lack of childcare. That leaves little time to prioritize an election with so many candidates to learn about.”
Richie said ranked-choice voting is still the best way forward for the city.
“I am feeling pretty optimistic that people will feel that this was the right decision, there is something more powerful in this when you can say something more than one person.”
The city spent $15 million on a voter education marketing blitz but that wasn’t enough for voters like Jerome Narramore. The 50-year-old author said he found ranked-choice too daunting and just marked his first picks for each race instead of selecting his top five.
“I didn’t do it, I just went single vote all the way down the line,” said Narramore, who declined to say who he voted for in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday. “I think it’s very confusing, they didn’t get the messaging out as to how it actually works for everybody to understand.”
—With assistance from Skylar Woodhouse.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.