This year’s Democratic primary will be only the second time New York City has used ranked-choice voting — which allows voters to list up to five candidates on their ballots in order of preference — to select a nominee for mayor.
The campaigns have worked hard to educate voters about how to make the most of their rankings, and some candidates have struck alliances to improve their chances of winning.
A critical partnership emerged the day before early voting began this month when two progressive candidates — Zohran Mamdani, a state lawmaker, and Brad Lander, the city comptroller — cross-endorsed each other in an effort to beat the front-runner, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
The two candidates’ hope is that if most of their supporters rank them in the top two spots on their ballots — and leave Mr. Cuomo off — they can combine their share of the vote and overtake Mr. Cuomo.
Trip Yang, a Democratic strategist who is not working on any of the mayoral campaigns, said that it was a smart move by Mr. Mamdani, who has been second in the polls and catching up to Mr. Cuomo.
“Given how close the polls are, and the likelihood that Lander will be the last candidate eliminated before the Cuomo-Zohran climax, the X-factor is how overwhelmingly Lander’s votes go to Zohran,” he said.
If 65 to 70 percent of Mr. Lander’s votes go to Mr. Mamdani, “then we might have our first Muslim, socialist mayor,” Mr. Yang said.
Under the ranked-choice system, if a voter’s top choice is eliminated, their vote is transferred to the next candidate on their ballot, and so on.
Before the city began using ranked-choice voting in citywide elections in the 2021 primary, New Yorkers would cast their votes for only one candidate. If no candidate received more than 40 percent of the vote, the top two finishers would go to a runoff. The ranked-choice system amounts to an instant runoff.
Mr. Cuomo led in the polls for months, but Mr. Mamdani has generated momentum and the race narrowed considerably. Mr. Cuomo has struck his own alliances, but has not made a cross-endorsement with another candidate.
Mr. Cuomo was endorsed by Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who is running for mayor and who had reservations about Mr. Mamdani. Another candidate, Whitney Tilson, a hedge fund executive, also opposes Mr. Mamdani and said he would rank Mr. Cuomo second on his ballot.
The left-leaning Working Families Party endorsed a slate of four candidates, including Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Lander, and held a rally on Sunday to show unity against Mr. Cuomo.
Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker who is part of the slate, said she supported the group, but chose not to make a cross-endorsement with Mr. Mamdani.
Mr. Mamdani and Michael Blake, a former state lawmaker from the Bronx, also cross-endorsed each other. Mr. Blake has trailed the others in polls, but had a strong debate performance.
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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