During the past three election cycles, Democrats nationally have had a secret weapon: Donald Trump. Over that same period, while it’s gotten less notoriety, Republicans have also received unexpected help from an unlikely source: progressive New York Democrats.
Voters in the New York City’s 24th Council District are heading to the polls on Tuesday to elect their representative for the remainder of the term of former Councilman Rory Lancman, who took a job in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration.
With eight candidates running, the race is a test of the city’s new rank-choice election – which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, instead of just choosing one. But the outcome of the non-partisan special election in the Borough of Queens will also test the strength of the progressive movement in New York, which could ultimately shape the makeup of the next City Council in 2022.
First test of ranked-choice voting underway in Queens; new system coming to Staten Island for primary
Updated Feb 22, 2021;
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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. New York City’s new ranked-choice voting system got underway in Queens over the weekend.
Early voting started Saturday for a special election to fill a City Council seat in eastern Queens. It’s the first election in the city to use ranked-choice voting, which passed by referendum with nearly 75% of the vote in 2019.
Valerie Vazquez-Diaz, a spokeswoman for New York City’s Board of Elections (BOE), said the BOE engaged in a public education campaign ahead of the Queens special election for the seat former Councilman Rory Lancman vacated for a position in Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.
Moumita Ahmed, one of the eight candidates running in the Feb. 2 non-partisan special election for the New York City Council seat vacated by former Councilman Rory Lancman, who took a job in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s administration, said during a debate on Tuesday that she supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. Last week, she came under fire over an alleged antisemitic tweet.
“I support the two-state solution and I support people’s right to boycott,” Ahmed said during a virtual candidate forum hosted by the Citizens Union, Queens Daily Eagle and the Gotham Gazette. “In my district, there are differences of opinions when it comes to that, so I want to make sure that I protect people’s First Amendment right to boycott.”
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