FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Lauren Mannerberg, lauren@anatgerstein.com, 929-553-7702
New analysis reveals that down-ballot municipal races benefit from a rise in public interest in politics during federal election cycles, even on longer ballots, addressing concerns of ballot drop-off
To read the full report, click here
New York, NY (September 24, 2025) – Citizens Union today released a new report showing that aligning New York City’s municipal elections with federal contests would so dramatically increase participation in local races further down the ballot, that any ballot drop-off would be negligible. Ballot drop-off refers to the phenomenon where voters tend to skip races further down the ballot.
Citizen Union’s report, Down Ballot Races and Even-Year Local Elections, examines voter behavior up and down the ballot in New York City and other major cities that shifted their election calendars. It finds that even-year elections boost participation across the board, with turnout increasing for every office on the ballot, including those at the bottom of the ballot. While some voters did skip races lower on the ballot after a calendar shift to even years, the number of new votes cast for those same races far outnumbered the voters who left them blank.
In New York City, for example, we found ballot questions and State Assembly races held during presidential election years routinely draw more votes than mayoral contests in odd years. In 2024, Proposition 6—the last measure on the ballot—garnered more than twice as many votes as were cast for mayor in 2021. In all other cities examined, municipal races that were moved further down the ballot in consolidated elections saw immense increases in voter turnout. While some worry that longer ballots might overwhelm voters and cause them to skip local races, the evidence shows that rather than “drowning out” down-ballot contests, even-year elections help elevate them.
“We have an exciting opportunity to engage more New Yorkers on local issues and local races,” said Grace Rauh, Executive Director of Citizens Union. “Moving our local elections to even years is one of the simplest and most powerful reforms we can make to expand voter participation, save millions in election administration costs, and ensure that City government reflects the diversity of New York. Odd-year elections are a relic of the 19th century that keep turnout low and make our electorate less representative. While critics claim consolidating elections will overwhelm voters and suppress participation, the evidence tells a very different story.”
Highlights from the report include:
- Successful switches in other cities: Data from cities that have already shifted to even-year municipal elections reveal that turnout for mayoral and other local races surged – even when those contests were moved far down the ballot. Drop-off rates remained low while the overall turnout for those races increased dramatically:
- Baltimore: 13% turnout for Mayor in 2011(when the election appeared at the top of the ballot) → over 55% in 2016, 2020, and 2024 during presidential election years.
- Last year, a ballot question placed 21st on the ballot, on page number 4, received 53% voter turnout.
- Los Angeles: 20% turnout for Mayor in 2017 → 44% turnout in 2022.
- More people voted for mayor than for top-of-the-ballot governor’s race.
- San Francisco: 36% turnout for Mayor in 2019 → 76% turnout in 2024 – despite moving the mayoral race to tenth place on the ballot, below school board elections.
- El Paso: 8% turnout for Mayor in 2017 → 55% in 2020 and 35% in 2024.
- The last race on the El Paso ballot – a municipal judicial seat – received 660% more votes after moving to even years.
- New York City’s down ballot races benefit in presidential election years:
- Across the five boroughs, State Assembly races held in even years enjoy more voter attention than City Council races, which are generally more competitive but are held in odd-years.
- The average turnout for an Assembly race in 2024 was 49%, compared to 21% average turnout for a Council race in 2021.
- For example, in the northeastern Bronx, the most competitive City Council race in 2023 drew only 13% voter turnout, while the overlapping Assembly district saw 52% turnout in 2024.
- Although ballot questions are the most frequently skipped contests down the ballot, NYC voters still vote for them in much higher numbers if they appear on an even year ballot, compared to the number of votes cast in odd years.
- In 2024, Proposition 1 – placed at the back of the ballot and sharing space with national and state races – received more than double the votes cast in the 2021 mayoral election.
- Ranked Choice Voting in even years brings high turnout and low drop-off:
- Cities like San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley, have successfully combined local Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) contests with statewide and federal elections for years, and see minimal ballot drop-off and strong participation. Voter behavior analysis of 40 such cases finds that no more than 10% of people who voted for the president or governor skipped voting for a council representative (except for two uncontested races), and in over a third of cases, ballot drop-off was at or below one percent.
- New Yorkers already successfully navigate ballots mixing RCV with non-RCV contests – including in the 2021, 2023, and 2025 primary elections. New York City follows best practice recommendations by clearly separating voting methods on different pages, and studies of those elections found no substantial issues with the use of
- Across the five boroughs, State Assembly races held in even years enjoy more voter attention than City Council races, which are generally more competitive but are held in odd-years.
- Baltimore: 13% turnout for Mayor in 2011(when the election appeared at the top of the ballot) → over 55% in 2016, 2020, and 2024 during presidential election years.
The full report is available here.
About Citizens Union
For more than a century, Citizens Union has been leading the fight for reform in New York. We are a non-partisan good government group that serves as a civic watchdog to combat corruption. We are New Yorkers from diverse backgrounds and political beliefs, united in our commitment to put the public interest ahead of all special interests. We work to ensure honest and accountable government, fair and open elections, and a civically engaged public. Principled and pragmatic, Citizens Union is an independent force for constructive reform, driving policy solutions to achieve responsible and responsive government in the City and State of New York.
###