The Manhattan DA Race Isn’t Ranked Choice Like All the Others
I was all set to rank my choices for Manhattan district attorney in the Democratic primary though I was confused as to why there was no information about the candidates in my NYC voter guide. Candidates for every other office (including the mayor) were in the mix, but not the Manhattan DA. Think the internet has all the answers? Well, if you type in “Why isn’t the 2021 Manhattan DA primary ranked-choice voting?” you’ll find information about both ranked-choice voting, which is new to New York City, and the highly competitive Manhattan district attorney race, but you will not find a CLUE as to why all the other primaries offer ranked-choice voting, but the Manhattan district attorney contest does not.
The New York City voter guide, while mentioning the DA primary on its inside cover (under Which offices are on the ballot?), gave no indication who the candidates were, omitting any mention of this race in the Meet the Candidates section. Though absent on the paper voter guide, the electronic version lists a paragraph titled “Other offices on your ballot,” which offers a link to the Board of Elections’ poll site locator, which after you enter your address (which you’ve already done once to find your candidates for mayor, public advocate, comptroller (all city-wide offices), borough president (borough specific), and city council (district specific).
When I asked the New York City Board of Elections why all the other offices were eligible for ranked-choice voting, but the Manhattan district attorney was not, the agency replied: “RCV [ranked-choice voting] applies to municipal offices only; Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President and City Council.” Which was in no way helpful to me.
However, Millennials for Eliza Orlins for Manhattan DA (@millennials4eo) helpfully explained: It’s a county race administered by the state and not the city — it’s also why Tali could raise up to $37,000+ on individual donations from her wealthy friends before giving herself another $8,000,000 in recent weeks.
As the ad I see on my streaming content show, Eliza Orlins has served as a public defender for 3,000 clients. And while other candidates running are considered progressive, Eliza Orlins — a former…
