New Supreme Court Judge Andrew Cohen announced his resignation from the 11th City Council seat on December 32, 2020, as did New Congressman Ritchie Torres from the 15th City Council seat. According to the City Charter, Mayor Bill de Blasio had three days to call for special elections to fill the vacancies, but because the vacancies occurred over the New Years holiday he had until today.
Mayor de Blasio has declared Tuesday March 23,2021 as the date for the 11th and the 15th City Council Districts special elections to elect a council member to serve until December 31, 2021. This date is within the eighty day window allowed by the City Charter, and will give residents the chance to make thoughtful and informed decisions about their representation.
Mayor de Blasio also said that eligible Bronx voters can participate with early voting, in-person voting, or by requesting an absentee ballot, and the mayor encourages everyone to make their voices heard in these special elections.
Mayor de Blasio failed to mention in his press release that the two Bronx special elections will be done with Rank Choice Voting, where voters can rank up to five candidates in order of the voters preference one through five. The voter still can just vote for only one candidate by putting a one in the box next to that candidate’s name only.
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