News Release

For Immediate Release

February 1, 2021

Contact

Chris Hughes, Media Liaison

Phone: 833-868-3728

chris.hughes@rcvresources.org

Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center Encouraged by New York State’s Shift to Test and Certify Universal Tabulator

The Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center (RCVRC) is the nation’s leading nonpartisan, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on education, research, training, and implementation of ranked choice voting. We are encouraged by recent developments at the New York State Board of Elections to test the Universal Ranked Choice Voting Tabulator (URCVT) for certification in New York State. RCVRC partnered with Bright Spots to develop the free, open-source Universal Ranked Choice Voting Tabulator, a verifiable, trustworthy tabulation software for use in ranked choice voting elections. Our job is to ensure that the NYC Board of Elections has the tools needed to successfully conduct their work. RCVRC is confident the tabulator will meet New York’s standards and will permit its use as a much-needed tool to tabulate ranked ballot data in upcoming elections in New York.

URCVT software incorporates security and tabulation best practices for tabulating or verifying election results. The tabulator uses secure data reports provided by a jurisdiction’s voting system to process the round-by-round counts necessary in a ranked choice voting election. Key security and tabulation features include:

• Customizable configuration to conform to local and state election law across the United States.
• Best practices for securely tabulating data, including installation of software on non-internet connect computers and regular software updates.
• Encryption code to confirm open-source software has not been altered.
• Tested at the federal level by an independent lab, approved by US Election Assistance Commission (EAC)
• Adheres to the standards of the Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG) of the EAC.
• Tested and certified by the State of Michigan and the State of Utah for use in certain local elections, as well as Benton County, Oregon, for audit validation.

As a dedicated resource to election administrators, policymakers, voters, and advocates, RCVRC provides training and tools to ensure well-implemented ranked choice voting elections, including the upcoming February 2 special election in New York City. The RCVRC is confident the URCVT software can provide accurate and reliable results to New York City voters, whether it is used to produce official results or alongside a hand count conducted by the Board of Elections staff.

“We take the value of everyone’s vote very seriously, and that is why we have done the work to make sure that the tabulator will work for any jurisdiction across the nation.” Gary Bartlett, RCVRC President and Former Executive Director of the North Carolina State Board of Elections, said, “The software is a safe and accurate system. We are working closely with the NYC BOE to make sure they have a well-run tabulation process. The integrity of our elections is of the utmost importance to our organization, and we provide our software as a no-cost, accurate, accessible solution for jurisdictions using ranked choice voting.”

The RCVRC’s goal is to help voters be confident that every vote is counted and to encourage them to cast their vote in every election. The URCVT is a fundamental part of ensuring voters know their votes count. Voters should hold the ultimate choice of who governs. We believe that ranked choice voting gives voters more choice and places candidates with broad appeal in a better position to serve. We look forward to working with the New York City Board of Elections and the New York State Board of Elections to make the best use of the URCVT in New York City’s ranked choice voting elections this year.

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The Ranked Choice Voting Resource Center, a division of Election Administration Resource Center, is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that provides accurate, reliable, tested, and research-based resources and information regarding ranked choice voting. Our national presence as the leading experts on this voting method allows us to help jurisdictions use best practices to implement ranked choice voting. We target our resources to meet the needs of policymakers, election administrators, voters, and advocates. For more information, please see our website at www.rcvresources.org.

Bright Spots is a small group of software professionals based in the San Francisco Bay Area who have united over their shared commitment to supporting both short-term causes and long-term nonpartisan reforms to improve the function of our democracy. They identify promising organizations aligned with their values and then seek to amplify the impact of those organizations by contributing financial support or engaging in pro bono specialized projects.