S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10963
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             September 9, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Paulin) --
   read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to establishing  a  ranked
   choice voting method for presidential elections
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new article  18  to
 read as follows:
 
                                ARTICLE 18
              RANKED CHOICE VOTING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS
 SECTION 18-100. DEFINITIONS.
         18-102. RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS.
         18-104. RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD; BALLOTS.
         18-106. RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD; PROCEDURES.
         18-108. VOTER EDUCATION.
         18-110. CONSTRUCTION.
   §  18-100.  DEFINITIONS.  "RANKED  CHOICE  VOTING METHOD" SHALL MEAN A
 METHOD OF CASTING AND TABULATING VOTES THAT SIMULATES THE BALLOT  COUNTS
 THAT  WOULD  OCCUR  IF  ALL  VOTERS  PARTICIPATED  IN A SERIES OF RUNOFF
 ELECTIONS, WHEREBY THE VOTERS RANK CANDIDATES ACCORDING TO THE ORDER  OF
 THEIR  CHOICE AND, IF NO CANDIDATE HAS RECEIVED A MAJORITY OF VOTES, THE
 CANDIDATE WITH THE FEWEST FIRST CHOICE VOTES SHALL BE ELIMINATED AND THE
 REMAINING CANDIDATES ADVANCE TO ANOTHER COUNTING ROUND. IN EVERY  ROUND,
 EACH  BALLOT SHALL BE COUNTED AS ONE VOTE FOR THE HIGHEST RANKED ADVANC-
 ING CANDIDATE.
   § 18-102. RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD FOR PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTIONS.  1.
 RANKED  CHOICE VOTING FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. BEGINNING WITH THE TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR  ELECTION,  ALL  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTIONS  SHALL  BE
 CONDUCTED USING THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD.
   2.  THE  STATE  BOARD  OF ELECTIONS IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED TO PROMULGATE
 RULES AND REGULATIONS MANDATING ALL COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO CONDUCT
 ALL  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTIONS,  INCLUDING  GENERAL   ELECTIONS,   SPECIAL
 ELECTIONS, AND PRIMARIES TO BE HELD IN THE YEAR TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD16842-02-0

 A. 10963                            2
 
 AND FOR ALL PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS HELD THEREAFTER, UTILIZING THE RANKED
 CHOICE VOTING METHOD.
   §  18-104.  RANKED  CHOICE VOTING METHOD; BALLOTS. 1.  NOTWITHSTANDING
 THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE  SEVEN  OF  THIS  CHAPTER,  OR  OF  ANY  OTHER
 PROVISION  OF  LAW TO THE CONTRARY, BALLOTS IN AN ELECTION FOR PRESIDENT
 AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES SHALL CONFORM TO THE  PROVISIONS
 OF  THIS  SECTION. THE BALLOT SHALL BE SIMPLE AND EASY TO UNDERSTAND AND
 ALLOW A VOTER TO RANK CANDIDATES IN  ORDER  OF  CHOICE.  A  VOTER  SHALL
 INCLUDE  NO  MORE  THAN ONE WRITE-IN CANDIDATE AMONG SUCH VOTER'S RANKED
 CHOICES.
   2. INSTRUCTIONS ON THE  BALLOT  SHALL  CONFORM  SUBSTANTIALLY  TO  THE
 FOLLOWING  SPECIFICATIONS,  ALTHOUGH  SUBJECT  TO MODIFICATION, BASED ON
 BALLOT DESIGN AND VOTING MACHINE:
   "VOTE FOR CANDIDATES BY INDICATING  YOUR  FIRST-CHOICE  CANDIDATES  IN
 ORDER  OF  PREFERENCE.  INDICATE YOUR FIRST CHOICE BY MARKING THE NUMBER
 "1" BESIDE A CANDIDATE'S NAME, YOUR SECOND CHOICE BY MARKING THE  NUMBER
 "2"  BESIDE  A CANDIDATE'S NAME, YOUR THIRD CHOICE BY MARKING THE NUMBER
 "3" BESIDE A CANDIDATE'S NAME AND SO ON, FOR  AS  MANY  CHOICES  AS  YOU
 WISH.  YOU MAY CHOOSE TO RANK ONLY ONE CANDIDATE, BUT RANKING ADDITIONAL
 CANDIDATES WILL NOT HURT THE CHANCES OF YOUR FIRST-CHOICE CANDIDATE.  DO
 NOT MARK THE SAME NUMBER BESIDE MORE THAN ONE CANDIDATE. DO NOT RANK THE
 SAME CANDIDATE MORE THAN ONCE.  DO NOT SKIP NUMBERS."
   3. A SAMPLE BALLOT FOR AN ELECTION SUBJECT TO THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING
 METHOD SHALL ILLUSTRATE THE  VOTING  PROCEDURE  FOR  THE  RANKED  CHOICE
 VOTING  METHOD.  SUCH A SAMPLE BALLOT SHALL BE INCLUDED WITH EACH ABSEN-
 TEE BALLOT.
   4. THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS  SHALL  ENSURE  THAT  THE  NECESSARY  VOTING
 SYSTEM,  VOTE  TABULATION  SYSTEM, OR OTHER SIMILAR OR RELATED EQUIPMENT
 SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO ACCOMMODATE THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD  WHERE
 THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD IS REQUIRED BY THIS ARTICLE.
   5.  WHEN  A  CANDIDATE  IS NOMINATED FOR AN OFFICE TO BE FILLED AT THE
 ELECTION BY MORE THAN ONE PARTY, THE VOTING MACHINE SHALL BE SO ADJUSTED
 THAT A CANDIDATE'S NAME APPEARS IN EACH ROW OR COLUMN CONTAINING  GENER-
 ALLY  THE  NAMES  OF  CANDIDATES FOR OTHER OFFICES NOMINATED BY ANY SUCH
 PARTY.
   § 18-106. RANKED  CHOICE  VOTING  METHOD;  PROCEDURES.  THE  FOLLOWING
 PROCEDURES  SHALL APPLY IN DETERMINING THE WINNER IN AN ELECTION SUBJECT
 TO THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING METHOD:
   1. THE FIRST CHOICE MARKED ON EACH BALLOT SHALL BE  COUNTED  INITIALLY
 BY  ELECTION  OFFICIALS.  IF  ONE  CANDIDATE  RECEIVES A MAJORITY OF THE
 VOTES, EXCLUDING  BLANK  AND  VOID  BALLOTS,  THAT  CANDIDATE  SHALL  BE
 DECLARED ELECTED.
   2.  IF  NO  CANDIDATE RECEIVES A MAJORITY OF FIRST-CHOICE VOTES AT THE
 END OF THE INITIAL COUNT, THE  CANDIDATE  RECEIVING  THE  FEWEST  FIRST-
 CHOICE  VOTES  SHALL  BE  ELIMINATED.  EACH VOTE CAST FOR THE ELIMINATED
 CANDIDATE SHALL BE TRANSFERRED TO THE CANDIDATE WHO WAS THE VOTER'S NEXT
 CHOICE ON THE BALLOT.
   (A) IF A CANDIDATE IS NOMINATED BY MORE THAN ONE PARTY OR  INDEPENDENT
 BODY,  THE  VOTE  TOTALS  FROM EACH PARTY LINE CONTAINING THAT CANDIDATE
 SHALL BE TREATED SEPARATELY IN THE FIRST ROUND SOLELY FOR THE PURPOSE OF
 DETERMINING EACH PARTY'S VOTE SHARE.
   (B) IF A CANDIDATE IS NOMINATED BY MORE THAN ONE PARTY OR  INDEPENDENT
 BODY,  THE  VOTE  TOTALS  FROM EACH PARTY LINE CONTAINING THAT CANDIDATE
 SHALL BE TREATED AS COMBINED IN EVERY ROUND FOR THE PURPOSES  OF  DETER-
 MINING  IF  ANY CANDIDATE HAS A MAJORITY AND DETERMINING WHICH CANDIDATE
 TO ELIMINATE.

 A. 10963                            3
 
   (C) FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION 12-100 OF THIS CHAPTER, IF  A  WINNING
 CANDIDATE  IS  NOMINATED  BY MORE THAN ONE PARTY OR INDEPENDENT BODY AND
 SUCH PARTIES OR INDEPENDENT BODIES NOMINATED  MORE  THAN  ONE  SLATE  OF
 CANDIDATES  FOR  ELECTOR  OF  PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
 STATES,  THE  ELECTORS OF THE PARTY OR INDEPENDENT BODY WHOSE PARTY LINE
 RECEIVED THE MOST VOTES OF SUCH PARTIES OR INDEPENDENT BODIES THAT NOMI-
 NATED THE WINNING CANDIDATE IN THE FINAL ROUND SHALL BE ELECTED.
   3. CANDIDATES WITH THE FEWEST VOTES SHALL CONTINUE TO  BE  ELIMINATED,
 WITH  THE  VOTES  FOR SUCH CANDIDATES BEING TRANSFERRED TO THE CANDIDATE
 WHO WAS EACH VOTER'S  NEXT  CHOICE  ON  THE  BALLOT  UNTIL  A  CANDIDATE
 RECEIVES A MAJORITY OF THE VOTES, EXCLUDING BLANK AND VOID BALLOTS. WHEN
 A  CANDIDATE  RECEIVES  A MAJORITY OF THE VOTES, SUCH CANDIDATE SHALL BE
 DECLARED THE WINNER.
   4. IF A BALLOT HAS NO MORE AVAILABLE CHOICES RANKED ON IT, SUCH BALLOT
 SHALL BE DECLARED EXHAUSTED. WHERE A BALLOT SKIPS TWO  OR  MORE  CONSEC-
 UTIVE  NUMBERS,  SUCH BALLOT SHALL BE DECLARED EXHAUSTED WHERE THE SKIP-
 PING OF NUMBERS BEGINS ON SUCH BALLOT. A BALLOT WITH THE SAME NUMBER FOR
 TWO OR MORE CANDIDATES SHALL BE  DECLARED  EXHAUSTED  WHERE  THE  DOUBLE
 NUMBERS BEGIN ON SUCH BALLOT.
   5.  WHERE A TIE IS REACHED BETWEEN CANDIDATES FOR LAST PLACE, AND THUS
 ELIMINATION, OCCURRING AT ANY STAGE IN THE TABULATION, THE TIE SHALL  BE
 RESOLVED  SO AS TO ELIMINATE THE CANDIDATE WHO RECEIVED THE LEAST NUMBER
 OF VOTES AT THE PREVIOUS STAGE OF TABULATION. IN THE CASE OF  A  TIE  TO
 WHICH A PREVIOUS STAGE DOES NOT APPLY, OR SUCH PREVIOUS STAGE WAS ALSO A
 TIE,  THE  TIE  SHALL  BE  RESOLVED BY DRAWING LOTS. HOWEVER, IF THE TIE
 OCCURS WHEN THERE ARE ONLY TWO CANDIDATES REMAINING, THE  TIE  SHALL  BE
 RESOLVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ARTICLE.
   §  18-108.  VOTER  EDUCATION.  THE  BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL CONDUCT A
 VOTER EDUCATION CAMPAIGN ON THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING SYSTEM TO FAMILIAR-
 IZE VOTERS WITH THE BALLOT DESIGN, METHOD OF VOTING, AND  ADVANTAGES  OF
 DETERMINING A MAJORITY WINNER IN A SINGLE ELECTION.
   § 18-110. CONSTRUCTION. ALL ELECTIONS HELD BY THE RANKED CHOICE VOTING
 METHOD  PURSUANT  TO  THIS  ARTICLE  SHALL  BE  SUBJECT TO ALL THE OTHER
 PROVISIONS OF THIS CHAPTER AND ALL OTHER  APPLICABLE  LAWS  RELATING  TO
 ELECTIONS,  SO FAR AS IS APPLICABLE AND NOT INCONSISTENT WITH THIS ARTI-
 CLE.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.