2022 General Election Ballot Questions
The maps below show the % of voters in each Assembly District who voted in the general election, but did not vote on the ballot proposal.
In addition to voting for candidates, New Yorkers occasionally vote for or against ballot proposals, which suggest amendments to state or local laws. These amendments typically impact governing documents such as the City Charter or the State Constitution. However, many voters have difficulty understanding the proposals. NYC Votes, an initiative of the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB), conducts outreach and educates New Yorkers before each election, on matters including ballot proposals.
NYC Votes provides City voters with information about their ballots before each election on social media platforms.
NYC Votes created an Instagram post that goes in-depth into each ballot proposal. Each slide converts the original ballot language into plain, easy-to-understand language.
NYC Votes is responsible for sending a Voter Guide in the mail to every registered voter in NYC. Included in the 2022 General Election Voter Guide, along with information about candidates and offices on the ballot, was more information about the ballot proposals.
NYC Votes created an educational video for social media that explains what ballot proposals are and why they're important.
NYC Votes created videos for social media that break down what's on the ballot for the City's voters.
Unfortunately, despite education and outreach efforts of NYC Votes and other agencies and organizations, there's still a large gap between the number of total ballots submitted in an election and the number of votes cast for ballot proposals. There are a few reasons for this gap. For example, the ballot proposals were very hard to understand (See our ballot proposal recommendations in the 2022-23 Voter Analysis Report for more information on ballot proposal language and accessibility). Additionally, the proposals were printed on the back of the ballots, requiring voters to know that they had to flip their ballots. Decision fatigue, a concept that describes how more people abstain from decision-making as they are asked to make more and more decisions, also contributed to the drop-off.
Below are 4 maps, each one containing the drop-off between total ballots submitted in an Assembly District (AD) and the number of votes for each ballot proposal.
Ballot Proposal 1 allows New York State to borrow $4.2 billion through a bond for environmental protection, natural restoration, resiliency, and clean energy projects. The percentage of drop-off on the first ballot question was 18%. This means that of everyone who cast a ballot, 18% did not answer Ballot Question 1. By AD, drop off ranged between 6% - 37%. This proposal passed with 67.5% of the state voting "yes", and 81.2% of the city voting "yes".
Ballot Proposal 2 creates a mission statement for New York City government by adding language to the City Charter that incorporates a statement of “values and vision.” The percentage of drop-off for the second ballot question was 21%. By AD, drop off ranged between 9% - 39%. Of the voters in the City that voted on Proposal 2, 72.4% voted "yes" for this proposal.
Ballot Proposal 3 creates an Office of Racial Equity, require a citywide Racial Equity Plan every two years, and create a Commission on Racial Equity. The percentage of drop-off for the third ballot question was 21%. By AD, drop off ranged between 10% - 39%. This proposal passed with 69.9% of voters voting "yes".
Ballot Proposal 4 requires the city to measure the actual cost of living for city residents to meet essential needs. The percentage of drop-off for the fourth Ballot question was 21%. By AD, drop-off ranged between 0.1% - 39%. 81.1% of City voters voted "yes" for this proposal.
