Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
TESTIMONY
Testimony by Bernard O'Brien from Unite New York advocating for open primaries and general election RCV
1:30:41
·
3 min
Bernard O'Brien urges the commission to put open primaries on the ballot, comparing the current closed system to outdated practices like the Fresh Kills landfill.
He argues it's unfair to exclude a million independent voters from taxpayer-funded primaries and notes that unlike other cities, NYC allows candidates to bypass primaries.
O'Brien also expresses concern that without ranked-choice voting in the general election, the next mayor could be elected with a small plurality (e.g., 25-30%), potentially representing an extreme viewpoint, and advocates extending RCV to general elections as well.
Bernard O'Brien
1:30:41
Hello.
1:30:41
My name is Bernard O'Brien.
1:30:43
I'm a volunteer with both Unite New York and New York City open primaries.
1:30:47
I'm sure you're eager to hear even more about election reform.
1:30:51
As we all know, change in reform is often contentious.
1:30:54
We're gathered on Staten Island.
1:30:56
Let's recall that city leaders once thought it sensible and fair to haul most of the city's garbage every day to Staten Island and bury it on fresh kills.
1:31:05
Also, you're all probably too young to remember this, but apparently, it once made sense to charge a fare to ride the Staten Island ferry.
1:31:13
So we did away with both those practices, so I respectfully suggest that you allow voters this coming November an opportunity to weigh in on doing away with our outmoded system of partisan enclosed primaries.
1:31:25
Despite the progress we made several years ago by integrating ranked choice voting, at least into our primary elections, very significant problems remain.
1:31:34
And 2025 may well be the year in which we dramatically bear witness to major flaws associated with our system, coupled with a general election which will not utilize ranked choice voting.
1:31:46
One obvious unfairness, as has been mentioned, is the fact that a million registered voters can't participate in the primaries.
1:31:54
We've also seen candidates choose to bypass the primaries entirely and still seek to secure a spot in the general election.
1:32:01
My understanding is this is not the case in a great many other cities.
1:32:05
In many other cities, a unified and open primary is held for the purpose to allow all registered voters a chance to vet and narrow down the entire field, which then moves on to general elections where typically much more competitive than most those we have here in our city.
1:32:23
My understanding is that candidates seeking offices in other cities cannot bypass primary day any more than a Yankee or Mets player can hope to cross home plate and score a run without first circling the bases.
1:32:36
So, also, the fact that ranked choice voting will not be utilized this November means that we may well be headed for an election in which a candidate may triumph with well under 50% of the votes cast.
1:32:48
I'm not here in support of or opposition to any candidate, but I've read that there may be at least four mayoral candidates on the ballot who can secure significant chunks of the votes cast.
1:33:00
With no ranked choice voting, we may have the real possibility that the city's next mayor may be elected with 25 to 30% of the votes cast.
1:33:09
And it may be the candidate that most voters see as the most extreme and thereby least acceptable to of all the candidates on offer.
1:33:17
Does that sound like an outcome which is which bodes well for the governability of the city over the next four years?
1:33:23
So I realize it's too late to change the system this year, but 2029 will be here before we know it.
1:33:30
So I therefore respectfully request that you allow voters this year an opportunity to vote on ending the partisan enclosed nature of our system, primaries, and also extend ranked choice voting to cover both primary and general elections for all city offices.
1:33:46
And I landed the plane right at three minutes.