(Editor’s Note: The following opinion column does not constitute an endorsement of any political party or candidate on the part of Newsmax.)
OPINION
If Conservatives Don’t Let Voters Rank Candidates, the Far Left Will Keep Winning Fractured Races
The current New York City mayoral race has turned into a circus.
Mayor Eric Adams says he’s out — but . . . he’ll still be on the ballot. Former N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in.
Concurrently, Curtis Sliwa is being pressured to get out. And Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialists’ favorite, is leading with less than half the electorate behind him.
Let’s be blunt: that’s not how you run a serious democracy in America’s flagship city.
This writer is no fan of Eric Adams.
But voters — not backroom brokers — should decide who stays or goes.
Right now, the field is splintered, and a candidate on the far left can coast to New York City Hall with 40-something-% while the rest of the city divides among more mainstream options.
There’s a simple fix that doesn’t advantage left or right: let voters rank their choices on the November ballot so the winner has a majority.
In Plain English: How It Works:
On Election Day, voters mark a 1, 2, and 3 next to their preferred candidates.
If your first choice can’t win, your ballot automatically counts for your next choice.
The counting continues until one candidate has a true majority.
That’s it — no “extra elections,” no endless runoffs, and no winners with 32% of the vote pretending they have a mandate.
New Yorkers already use this “ranking” system in party primaries and in special elections — including the special that elected me to the city council.
Voters handle it just fine.
They like having the freedom to back their favorite without “wasting” their vote.
Here’s the key point for conservatives and moderates: if voters could rank candidates in November, Zohran Mamdani wouldn’t win this race.
His hard-left base is intense, but it’s not a majority.
In later rounds, center-right Republicans, independents, and conventional Democrats would coalesce around a broadly acceptable alternative. That’s not speculation; it’s how ranking behaves everywhere it’s used — the winner must earn second- and third-choice support beyond a narrow faction.
Some on the right bristle at anything “new” in election rules.
I get it.
But ranking candidates solves our side’s biggest structural problem in blue states and cities: vote-splitting.
When a Republican, a Libertarian, and a right-leaning Independent all run, the left doesn’t need 50% to win — they only need to keep us divided.
Letting voters rank candidates collapses that split into a single, majority-backed outcome.
Four conservative-friendly advantages:
- No Spoilers. Your first-choice vote isn’t “wasted”; it moves to your next choice if needed.
- Majority Rule. A bedrock conservative principle: the winner should have more than half the city behind them.
- Broader Appeal. Candidates must reach beyond their base; ideological purists struggle, coalition-builders rise.
- One Election, One Day. Especially if paired with a nonpartisan November ballot (as in NYC special elections), you avoid costly runoffs and months of uncertainty.
This matters beyond New York. The DSA strategy is simple: run a disciplined left candidate and let Republicans, independents, and moderate Democrats trip over one another.
In a fractured field, 44% wins power.
If we keep the current rules, they’ll keep exploiting the split — in blue cities and college-town metros across the country.
I’ve introduced legislation to put a straightforward question before New York voters: should we let everyone rank candidates in the November General Election, so the winner truly has majority support?
Ideally, we should “make every election special” — a single, nonpartisan November contest using rankings, just like our special elections.
That’s the highest turnout and the cleanest mandate. But at minimum, ranking in the general election ends the spoiler games that are distorting this race right now.
This isn’t about helping Republicans or Democrats. It’s about helping voters. Conservatives say our ideas can win majorities. Let’s prove it — by using a ballot which finds the majority.
The stakes are bigger than one mayor. New York’s next leader will shape crime policy, migrant response, school standards, and the economic climate that impacts national markets — and, frankly, America’s reputation abroad. We should not hand that job to a factional candidate who can’t clear 50% just because the center fractured three ways.
Give voters a ballot that lets them say, “Here’s my favorite — and here’s my backup if they can’t win.” That’s common sense. It’s fair. And it ensures the next mayor of the world’s most important city actually represents most New Yorkers.
That’s not a partisan trick. It’s basic math — and a better way to choose the person who runs a city with global consequences.
Frank Morano is U.S. radio host, who serves as a member of the New York City Council, for the 51st district. He was elected in 2025. A member of the Republican Party, his district encompasses Staten Island’s South Shore.
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