Ranked Choice Voting

In 2018, Pythia partnered with Common Cause NY and a large coalition to advocate for Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) as an option on the 2019 ballot. This coalition aimed to create more democratic elections and challenge long-time incumbents who were often winning by small margins. This effort included several concerted campaigns: to put RCV on the ballot, garner support for RCV, and educate the public about it. We led a communications campaign which included organizing press conferences, finding and developing diverse spokespeople, writing and placing op-eds, and creating strategic digital ads in multiple languages. Pythia’s efforts culminated in success when 75% of voters opted for RCV in local elections – a result which reflected a higher participation rate than a typical off-year election, demonstrating significant public engagement with this issue. With RCV on the books, the Pythia team continued educational and awareness campaigns, to ensure New Yorkers fully grasped the concept and benefits of RCV and were able to use it effectively in the 2021 elections.