The week’s biggest political news may not have involved women candidates, but it most certainly involved women. New York City’s mayoral primary on June 24th resulted in a big upset: Zohran Mamdani, 33-year-old state legislator and Muslim-American born in Uganda, swamped political heavyweight Andrew Cuomo and a talented field in the Democratic mayoral primary. Mamdani this fall looks poised to join 36-year-old Boston mayor Michelle Wu as part of a new generation of leadership in our northeast cities.
Mamdani won by leaning into the incentives of New York’s ranked choice voting (RCV) election system. RCV is a system that rewards unifiers, and Mamdani embraced those incentives. He and third-place finisher Brad Lander cross-endorsed one another, producing clever joint ads and appearing together on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. He urged voters to use all five of their rankings. As I detailed in my Ms. Magazine piece this week – Ranked-Choice Voting Spurs a New Era of Collaborative Campaigning in New York –he boosted the candidacy of city council speaker Adrienne Adams to help; her secure public financing,
In contrast, Andrew Cuomo did not ask voters to support any other candidate, and admitted that he only ranked himself when voting. In a prophetic column last week – New York Shows That When Democrats Don’t Pass the Torch, Voters Get Fed Up -the New York Times’ Mara Gay provides more context for the problematic decision of so many established Democratic leaders and union leaders in the City to really around a man who resigned in disgrace after costing New York taxpayers more than 60 million dollars in litigating defending himself, mostly against the 13 women whom the DOJ in 2024 found had experienced a sexually hostile environment:
But the actual problem for Democrats is Andrew Cuomo, the disgraced former governor insisting on a comeback bid despite representing so much of what many voters have come to disdain about the Democratic Party. The dynamics of the race are a warning for Democrats everywhere Mr. Cuomo has few new ideas, moved to the city only months ago and resigned as governor in 2021 after 11 women accused him of sexual harassment. (At the time, he apologized. During his mayoral campaign, he has denied wrongdoing and downplayed the accusations.)...
Mr. Cuomo’s presence in the field has made it nearly impossible for these Democrats to get noticed. His return is a vivid example of the dysfunction eating away at the Democratic Party nationally. For the past decade, uninspiring politicians have stomped out competition and held on to power. Many of them have clear flaws and liabilities. Many have also ignored the grinding challenges faced by their constituents, like the nationwide housing shortage. Yet they insist they should remain in charge, strangling the new talent that could reinvigorate the party.
Looking forward, women should be at the center of this necessary change. We have never had a woman president, Senate majority leader nor majority on the Supreme Court. We’ve never had even a third of Congress, our governors, and big city mayors be women. Too often, when big decisions are made, those at the table look like the men here who think they know best when dropping bombs without any consideration of international law.
Source: NBC News
With all due respect, it’s time for more men to step aside and let women step up. And if New York City is any indication, the voters may take matters into their own hands.
New York City: Women To Maintain their New Majority on the City Council
New York City voters also cast ranked choice voting (RCV) ballots in party primaries for all 51 seats on the city council. RCV was first used in city primaries in 2021, when voters more than doubled the number of women on the council to a record-breaking 31. Our 2022 case study showed the role of electoral rules (RCV, combined with term limits and a strong public financing program) in that jump for women and the positive impact RCV has made on policy of particular concern to women.
Per The New York Times, 27 women incumbents are in good standing to win their primaries based on first-round votes, meaning women will maintain a majority on the council. Our team is also waiting for the RCV results from the District 41 race, which has incumbent Darlene Mealy in the lead, as well as open seat races in Districts 2, 4, 8, 21, and 28, which may yield additional wins for women.
Hats off to The New Majority NYC, Vote Run Lead, Running Start, Eleanor’s Legacy and other organizations for doing so much to lift up opportunities for women in city government –as they move up the pipeline, expect more success for more of these women in citywide and federal office in years to come
It’s true that New York City unnecessarily takes too long to report its first RCV tallies – unlike the 79% of RCV jurisdictions where results are reported within 24 hours of poll closing. As we wait a week for the results to get officially certified by the New York Board of Elections, one thing is clear: New Yorkers were able to reap the benefits of RCV in every race on Tuesday, and take a stand for a government that truly works better for all people.
"With Ranked Choice Voting in NYC Women Win”
In an article published in The Fulcrum co-written with Ebonie Simpson, the talented Executive Director of The New Majority NYC, we share:
Ranked choice voting works because it delivers more voice, more choice, and more representative outcomes. Voters crave choice in elections. But the reality of many candidates in a single-choice election is a giant headache. Voters have the nearly impossible task of trying to determine whether their favorite candidate has a chance to win or whether they should vote for someone they liked well enough who might be polling a little better.
Meanwhile, candidates elbow each other out of the race—fearing the vote will otherwise be split among ideologically or demographically similar options. The loser? As we’ve learned from conversations with leaders in New York and across the country, it’s most often women—or candidates of color—who are told to “wait their turn.” Candidates get picked in back rooms, not by voters.
New York City Charter Commission May End Use of Ranked Choice Voting
NY Mayor Eric Adams
If some people have their way, this could be the last election where RCV effectively decides elections in New York City. A charter commission appointed by controversial mayor Eric Adams has been examining proposing a California-style “Top Two” system where an all-candidate primary open to all voters would limit the field to two. It would be followed by a long, punishing head-to-head runoff that maximizes the influence of big money and reduces the women-empowering opportunities to build coalitions with positive campaigns.
While addressing the legitimate frustrations of unaffiliated voters and seeking to make more general elections competitive, a Top Two system would be a regressive step in a City that already has RCV well-established and where an overwhelming majority of voters choose to rank more than one candidate. Here's a link to my testimony this week to the New York City Charter Commission lifting up a Top Four primary as a more impactful and inclusive approach to all-candidate primaries that has resulted in a women-majority in the Alaska house of representatives. My testimony also highlights our joint report with FairVote and others on good policies to make Top 4 RCV elections all the better. My husband Rob Richie of Expand Democracy also provided testimony to the Commission contrasting Top Four primaries with Top Two primaries.
The Charter Commission concludes its work early next month. You can make your voice heard at this link to protect & preserve ranked choice voting in New York City.
Virginia Primaries Create History for Women, with Limits
Virginia and New Jersey are the two states who will both elect new governors and hold legislative elections. The Center for American Progress (CAWP) has a clear rundown of what the June 17th primaries meant for women. A few highlights:
Governor and Lt. Governor:
- Current Lt, Governor Winsome Earle-Sears (R) and former U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D) are nominees in an all-woman gubernatorial contest in Virginia this year. Either would both be the first woman governor of Virginia.
- Virginia is one of 18 states that has never had a woman governor. The others are California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.
- There are two gubernatorial elections in 2025, in New Jersey and Virginia. If women are successful in both states, the number of women governors could reach 14 by January 2026, matching the record high set briefly in January 2025.
- The sole woman candidate for attorney general was unsuccessful, but state Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D) won the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor. If Hashmi is successful, she could become both the first Democratic woman and first Asian American/Pacific Islander woman to serve as Virginia’s lieutenant governor.
House of Delegates:
- Women are 70 of 169 (41.4%) major-party nominees for the House of Delegates in Virginia, including 56 of 99 (56.6%) Democrats and 14 of 70 (20%) Republicans. This is not a record high.
- All 34 (27D, 7R) current women House incumbents are nominees for re-election in November 2025. All ran for re-election and zero lost their bid.
Women and St. Paul Special Election with RCV on August 12
The St. Paul city council in 2011, right before use of RCV, as opposed to in 2023
St. Paul in 2023 elected an all-women city council in its ranked choice voting elections. There’s now a vacant seat, and three women are among the four candidates running in an August 12th special election with RCV - Molly Coleman, Carolyn Will and Chauntyll Alen. A regularly scheduled general election will take place in November, along with several other Minnesota cities like Minneapolis.
Charlottesville the latest Virginia City to Elect Women with RCV
Source: https://bsky.app/profile/jenfleisher.bsky.social
On June 14, Charlottesville became the second locality in Virginia to move to ranked choice voting in a Democratic primary for two citywide seats. Political newcomer Jen Fleisher secured just over 50% of first-round votes, while Mayor Juandiego Wade achieved 36%, with Vice‑Mayor Brian Pinkston at 13%. With the proportional form of RCV, winning a seat required the votes of
More from Independent Voter News:
“RCV advocates say the outcome demonstrates one of the reform's core strengths: It empowers voters to choose candidates they genuinely support without fear of “vote splitting." This happens when a majority of voters split up their votes between multiple preferred candidates under a choose-one method, leading to the least preferred candidate winning. To avoid this, voters end up thinking more about strategy over choosing who they most prefer.
‘Tuesday’s results demonstrate that ranked choice voting delivers on its promise of diverse representation,’ said Sally Hudson, executive director of Ranked Choice Virginia.”
“Charlottesville voters got two winners who come from different corners of our community. One lives on the north side and one lives on the south side. There's one man and one woman, one Black candidate and one white candidate.”
Meanwhile, Arlington County uses RCV for both its primary and general elections. This year’s County Board primary had only two candidates, but the general election will put RCV in play, with several independents running The Board’s Maureen Coffey posted this week on Twitter:
“I can’t believe this website has gotten me to care about the #NYCMayor race…No matter what happens, RCV made this a better campaign, focused on more issues and coalition building. Should absolutely be used more often, ESPECIALLY in these crowded field primary races!!!!”
Women’s Representation in Mixed Member Proportional Representation Systems
Charlottesville's primary was with the most modest form of proportional representation one can have: not having a winner-take-all rule for two seats. RepresentWomen finds that more fully proportional voting systems are all the most likely to enhance women’s representation, as it did in the rollout of proportional RCV in Portland (OR) last year.
Most nations using PR around the world use party-based systems, where it’s particularly important for women' s representation to have gender quotas and incentives to ensure women are in winnable positions on party lists. American architects of prospective PR systems can learn from academic work like this new article on women in “mixed member” systems that balance U.S.-style single member districts and party lists seats called How does the introduction of mixed electoral systems influence women’s representation in parliaments? From the Abstract:
This study examines how switching to a mixed electoral system affects the level of women’s representation in national parliaments compared to the original system. Political science theories suggest that the type of electoral system influences the level of female representation in parliaments. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect that changing to a mixed system will bring changes.
We combine two levels of analysis. First, we closely examine six countries that have shifted from majoritarian or proportional systems to mixed systems to assess the impact on women’s representation in parliaments. To ensure that changes in women’s representation are not merely a result of global trends, we compare each country’s share of women in parliament with a country of similar culture and the same initial electoral system, but where the electoral system has not changed. Second, we conduct a large global crossnational comparison using multivariate regressions to examine the broader effects of adopting mixed systems.
As expected, our findings show that moving from a majoritarian electoral system to a mixed system increases women’s representation in parliaments. However, unexpectedly the findings show that moving from a proportional system to a mixed system does not decrease women’s representation in parliaments
RepresentWomen, The Matriots and the Hamilton County Commission on Women and Girls Host Braver Together
This past Tuesday in Cincinnati, RepresentWomen in partnership with The Matriots and the Hamilton County Commission on Women and Girls co-hosted Braver Together. Braver Together was about discussing the status of women’s representation in elected office, building community, and understanding the power of collective activism.
We recognize and honor our different perspectives and lived experiences and how much better we are when we come together. The first part of the evening was spent learning from one another’s journey of advocacy and activism. Because activism is new for some, we know that bravery is needed to take the first step.
Feeling activated, the second part of the evening was about matching people with organizations and causes where they could give their time and talent.
At RepresentWomen, we recognize that so much of the energy to increase parity in elected office has to be harnessed locally. People understand that the government doesn’t always represent the people they serve, but there aren't always opportunities to learn how to create needed change. Braver Together was a beautiful space to present our work and engage people on the system reforms needed to make government more accessible for everyone.
3rd Anniversary of Dobbs v. Jackson Leaves Access to Women's Reproductive Healthcare Unclear
Source: Center for Reproductive Rights
June 24, 2022, was the date when the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, taking away the constitutional right to an abortion. Since then, the United States has evolved into a patchwork system of access to reproductive healthcare, with each state having its own unique laws, manadaes, and in some cases, consequences for both healthcare providers and recipients. Now, data-tracking from the federal government is halting, making it difficult for lawmakers to get a clear picture of the impact of this legislation from healthcare professionals like the CDC and the Department of Health and Human Services.
Chabeli Carrazana writes in The 19th:
Already, the Trump administration has moved to eliminate research on abortion. In January, Trump issued an executive order blocking data collection measuring the effect of access to reproductive care, including abortion care. The administration scrubbed several references to abortion on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website.
That data could potentially illuminate for lawmakers the myriad effects abortion restrictions can have. Beyond the health consequences, lack of abortion access can destabilize people economically, affecting everything from where they choose to live to whether they can stay employed.
Women Public Servants in Canada Face Pay Inequity
Bernadeth Betchi, a plaintiff, and Nicholas Marcus Thompson, executive director of the Black Class Action Secretariat at a press conference.
Source: The Canadian Press and Justin Tang
Payroll inequities continue in Canada’s compensation system for public employees, even though gains have been made to make public service more equitable, according to a new report from Canada’s Treasury Board. Legislation was passed in 2023 to modernize the Employment Equity Act, but little actionable steps have been taken. Black public servants in Canada even tried to file a class-action lawsuit alleging discrimination in public service, including pay equity, but a judge denied certification.
Catherine Morrison and The Canadian Press write in The Times Colonist:
Compared with the entire core public service, employees who fall into “equity groups” — women, Indigenous Peoples, visible minorities and people with disabilities — are more likely to fall into the lower income groups and less likely to be among employees making over $100,000 a year.
The Employment Equity in the Public Service of Canada report for 2023-24 divides employees into six income groups, starting at those who make less than $50,000 a year and topping out with those who make $150,000 or more a year.
The data shows that about one-third of all employees made less than $75,000, including 1.7 per cent who made less than $50,000. But 39 per cent of women — who account for 57 per cent of all employees — made less than $75,000.
Almost 35 per cent of Indigenous employees made less than $75,000, as did almost 35 per cent of employees with disabilities and 37 per cent of visible minorities. The report said 46 per cent of Black employees made less than $75,000.
The Push for Youth Voting Increases Across the Nation
Source: Ballotpedia
It’s no secret that getting more young people to vote is one of the pathways to creating a more representative government. Some municipalities are taking a unique approach to doing so, allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to cast a ballot in municipal-level elections. Communities in New Jersey, Maryland, Vermont, and California have lowered the voting age to 16 or 17. Other states, like Rhode Island, have made it so that 17-year-olds can participate in primary elections so long as they are 18 by the general election date. These changes in the voting age are meant to encourage younger voters to participate in government earlier, inspiring a lifetime of civic engagement.
Jessica Huseman writes in Votebeat:
The U.S. has been slower to move. Nationwide, the U.S. Constitution guarantees voting rights only for people 18 and older. But at the local level, things are heating up.
Right now, Maryland leads the way. Several municipalities there have already lowered the voting age for local races, taking advantage of state law that makes it easy for municipalities to accommodate registration and ballots for 16- and 17-year olds. A local council vote is enough to change quite a lot of election rules, including, for example, allowing noncitizens to cast ballots.
Compare that with Oakland, California, where voters approved youth voting back in 2020 — only to have to wait four full years for Alameda County to get around to updating its registration systems, a much longer delay than Newark.
In other words, even when the people say yes, the bureaucracy can say, “We’ll get to it eventually.”
Title IX - A System’s Change for Girls and Women with Sweeping Impact
Former representative Patsy Mink, painted by Melanie Humble, was a leader on Title IX legislation
A milestone in women’s history this week includes the passage of Title IX into law on June 23, 1972. Title IX has been a game changer for girls and women, limiting sex-based discrimination in education and sports programs that receive federal funding. Way back in 2016, I wrote about A Title IX for Women in Politics, which begins as follows:
The 2016 Olympics in Rio were both a triumph for American athletes and a tribute to the lasting impact of Title IX, the 1972 law that set out to equalize educational and athletic opportunities for the nation's women and girls. Women made up a majority of the 554 American athletes at this year's Olympics, and brought home fully half of the 121 medals won by U.S. competitors.
For women seeking parity in the United States, particularly in the political sphere, Title IX offers an important road map. Female athletes were not told to change their attire, behavior, or strategy, as women in politics are constantly advised to do. They were materially helped by legal protections and systemic policy changes. As the nation gears up to vote in a presidential election featuring the first woman ever nominated by a major political party, female politicians in America need a Title IX of their own.
More information on how to commemorate 53 years of Title IX can be found at the Women’s Sports Foundation, that visionary RepresentWomen supporter and ally Tuti Scott helped to lead in its early years.
Justice Sotomayor, painted by Melanie Humble
Additional notable milestones include: birthdays for Rosie Cohen, manager of Parula Gardens; Paula Lamendola; Melanne Verveer, Executive Director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace & Security; Helen Keller, humanitarian, educator, writer, an advocate for the blind and for women’s suffrage and co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union; Sonia Sotomayor, first Latina on the Supreme Court; noted author Carol Edgar; Suzie Staudenmaier; Stephanie Donner, Chief Legal & People Officer of Inspire Clean Energy; and Tamera Luzatto, former Chief of Staff to Hilary Rodham Clinton.
Summer blooms in my garden….
That’s all for this week,
Cynthia Richie Terrell
https://www.representwomen.org/