The Ballot Basics of Ranked-Choice Voting
Ranked-choice voting should be as simple as ordering a barbecue platter. Yet many New Yorkers remain befuddled about how it works. We're going to demystify it for you.
I'm Dean Chang, and I oversee The New York Times's coverage of the New York City mayoral race. In today's newsletter, we take a close look at how ranked-choice balloting worked in the last mayoral primary, explain why some candidates are teaming up against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and see how one subway aficionado plans to rank his choices. But first, the news.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
14 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Coke's New Cane-Sweetened Soda Risks Upending Sugar Supplies
(Bloomberg) -- After four decades drinking Coca-Cola sweetened with corn syrup, Americans are going to get the chance to buy the soda made from domestic cane sugar. But whether US farmers can meet that demand is unclear. Trump Awards $1.26 Billion Contract to Build Biggest Immigrant Detention Center in US Why the Federal Reserve's Building Renovation Costs $2.5 Billion Salt Lake City Turns Winter Olympic Bid Into Statewide Bond Boom Milan Corruption Probe Casts Shadow Over Property Boom The High Costs of Trump's 'Big Beautiful' New Car Loan Deduction Coca-Cola Co. said Tuesday it will launch the new Coke variety this fall, a week after President Donald Trump said the company had agreed to start using the sweetener. The move is hardly an outlandish idea. In fact, Coke sold in other countries like Mexico is sweetened with cane sugar. And the company relied on cane sugar before switching to high fructose corn syrup around 1980. While the company will still be using corn syrup for original Coke, the addition of a domestic cane-based soda could help growers in Louisiana and Florida at a time when demand has been slow. However, a sustained bump in demand — especially if other companies follow Coca-Cola's lead — risks outstripping homegrown availability. US cane only makes up about 30% of overall domestic sugar supplies, according to the US Department of Agriculture. The rest comes from imports, which were about 2.2 million metric tons for the 2025-26 season, and American-grown sugar beets that perform better in colder climates. 'We have ways of trying to assist in new product launches, but mass usage — it would be very difficult for our industry to absorb that,' said Craig Ruffolo, a vice president at McKeany-Flavell, a broker of ingredients including sugar. A sugar supply shortfall would likely mean more cane imports from Mexico and Brazil, exposing American companies and consumers to higher prices just as they are facing market upheaval from Trump's tariffs. Cane sugar is more expensive than high-fructose corn syrup. On top of that, long-standing import tariffs mean US raw cane sugar futures are already more than double what the rest of the world pays. That price gap widened to a record on Tuesday. Foreign shipments can be costly, as decades-old US government policies limit how much sweetener can be cheaply shipped from other countries. That has long kept US sugar prices above that of the global market, even when lower-taxed imports under the US's limits and preferential shipments from Mexico were enough to keep the country amply supplied. In recent years though, the US has become even more reliant on record amounts of high-taxed imports after droughts impacted Mexican supplies. Trump's threat of a 50% tariff on Brazil also risks raising prices. If cane-sweetened Cokes are a success, higher demand would add to the pressure. Refined cane sugar cost more than 52 cents a pound in June, about 12% more than the high-fructose corn syrup used in Coke and nearly 50% more than beet sugar, according to the USDA. US refiners have some spare capacity to process more raw cane, but that will depend on imports and is still 'not going to be able to go on the scale of a mass distribution like a classic Coke,' said Ruffolo. Expansions to cane acreage are also limited. Louisiana's growth could be capped at 10%, while Florida doesn't have much more land for cane, he added. Coke has been working with cane sugar suppliers, and believes they will be able to bring enough supply to market if there is demand from consumers, Chief Executive Officer James Quincey said on Fox Business. RFK Jr.'s Push The new Coke product comes as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has railed against the prevalence of ultra-processed foods, which are generally more likely to use high-fructose corn syrup. The company's move, while an incremental shift away from corn, could open the door for other companies to follow suit. PepsiCo Inc. Chief Executive Officer Ramon Laguarta said last week that it would follow consumer preferences on sugar and other natural ingredients. Coca-Cola uses cane in other US products like lemonades and teas, and is looking to use 'the whole toolkit of available sweetening options to some extent where there are consumer preferences,' Quincey said on a Tuesday earnings call. The new Coke with US cane sugar is expected to be 'an enduring option for consumers,' he added. It is still unclear how much sugar these new products will require, said Claudiu Covrig, the lead analyst at Covrig Analytics. It could end up being a tiny segment with 'more publicity than real volume,' he said. But if US beverage companies shift significantly toward cane instead of high-fructose corn syrup, additional imports could range from 300,000 to 800,000 metric tons. (Adds analyst quote beginning in fifth paragraph.) Elon Musk's Empire Is Creaking Under the Strain of Elon Musk Burning Man Is Burning Through Cash A Rebel Army Is Building a Rare-Earth Empire on China's Border What the Tough Job Market for New College Grads Says About the Economy How Starbucks' CEO Plans to Tame the Rush-Hour Free-for-All ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Sign in to access your portfolio
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
Huizenga passes on Michigan Senate run
Rep. Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) said on Wednesday he was passing on a Senate run in the Great Lakes State after Republicans had voiced concerns of a primary between the congressman and former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.). 'After careful consideration with Natalie and my family, as well as in consultation with President Trump, I have decided against a bid for U.S. Senate in Michigan,' Huizenga said in a statement. 'I am proud of our effort and am grateful for the outpouring of support and encouragement I received from Michiganders across our great state,' he continued. However, Huizenga was not definitive on what his next move would be, saying he looks forward to announcing his 'future plans' later this year. If he had decided on a Senate bid, Huizenga would have faced off against Rogers, an establishment favorite, who came within less than a point of defeating Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) in last year's competitive Senate race. Rogers received the backing of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-N.D.) and National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-S.C.) following his 2026 campaign launch in April. Last week, Rogers' campaign said he raised over $1.5 million in the second quarter of 2025. Unlike Republicans, Michigan Democrats are facing a contentious primary battle between establishment favorite Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), state Sen. Mallory McMorrow (D), and former progressive gubernatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
The Hill
15 minutes ago
- The Hill
White House plays whack-a-mole with Epstein reports
Happy Wednesday. If you listen carefully, you can hear senators and staffers singing a lament as the House splits early for the August recess. In today's issue: Trump unveils AI plan White House responds to latest Epstein story Administration will answer questions at 1 p.m. Republican leaders eager to leave town Democrats disagree on shutdown strategy 🤖️ IN THE WHITE HOUSE 'Hey, look at this shiny thing over here!': It's all about artificial intelligence (AI) at the White House today. The Trump administration released its AI Action Plan. President Trump will then give a keynote address later today at an AI summit. 💻 Watch Trump's 5 p.m. remarks Let me walk you through this 'AI Action Plan': It would scale back regulation of technology to make the U.S. the global leader in AI. The plan has three pillars: 1. Boost American innovation 2. Build out data center infrastructure 3. Promote American technology abroad This should give the Trump team a welcome distraction from the unrelenting news surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein saga. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has a press briefing scheduled for 1 p.m., when we can expect lots of questions about Epstein. There could be some fireworks. 💻 Watch it live CNN dug up some new photos of Trump and Epstein together: CNN's Andrew Kaczynski and Em Steck uncovered more photos and video footage highlighting President Trump 's past relationship with disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. First: The investigative journalists found photos of Epstein attending Trump's 1993 wedding to Marla Maples, noting 'Epstein's attendance at the ceremony at the Plaza Hotel was not widely known until now.' Second: They found raw footage of Trump and Epstein laughing and talking at a 1999 Victoria's Secret fashion event. 📹📸 See the photos and footage What did Trump have to say about the reporting?: 'In a brief call with CNN on Tuesday, President Trump, asked about the wedding photos, responded, 'You've got to be kidding me,' before repeatedly calling CNN 'fake news' and hanging up.' His communications director, Steven Cheung, gave CNN a statement claiming they were 'out-of-context frame grabs.' Cheung also reiterated that Trump 'kicked [Epstein] out of his club for being a creep.' 📹 Watch Kaczynski discuss the new reporting on 'Erin Burnett Out Front' 💡 Why this matters: These are not the first photos of Trump and Epstein together. But the trickle of new reports about Trump and Epstein's past relationship is forcing the White House to spend time explaining the dynamics. Trump sued The Wall Street Journal's parent company last week over the newspaper's reporting of an alleged birthday letter Trump sent Epstein in 2003. ➤ TIDBIT: We reported Tuesday that top DOJ official Todd Blanche will meet with Epstein's accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Well, The Hill's Zach Schonfeld and Ella Lee point out in their newsletter The Gavel that Blanche is friends with Maxwell's lawyer. Sign up for their newsletter 🌻 ON CAPITOL HILL IMHO, I think everyone could use a breather from D.C.: Tensions have been high in both the Republican and Democratic caucuses on Capitol Hill — and it sure feels like everyone needs an August recess to cool off. The House is leaving town early — last votes will happen at 3:30 p.m. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is threatening to cut the recess short. I can't remember the last time there was a recess without a threat to make everyone stay in town… Let's start with Republicans: The Jeffrey Epstein files have caused quite the tension for Republicans on Capitol Hill. Democrats tried pinning them down by forcing uncomfortable votes related to the Epstein files. Republicans wanted nothing to do with it, so Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) shut down all House floor business and is beginning August recess a day early. Drama: Johnson handpicked his allies to be on the powerful House Rules Committee. Well, those allies rebelled. They want Johnson to bring up a vote to release the Epstein files, even though it would be nonbinding. But it's unclear whether the measure could pass, even though it was crafted by Republicans. The Hill's Emily Brooks and Mychael Schnell wrote a helpful explainer on the drama. I think it's safe to say that Republican leaders will be happy to leave town amid the Epstein saga. Now, the Democratic tea: Senate Democrats held a lunch meeting Tuesday to decide how to handle the upcoming government funding fight — it lasted for hours and was quite tense. They debated how to have leverage in the funding battle but are deeply divided. Keep in mind: Republicans *need* Democrats' help to avoid a shutdown, so they do have some leverage. But as history has shown us, the party that causes a government shutdown almost always gets blamed. Democrats say Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is 'afraid' of getting blamed, but some also warn that caving to Republicans' demands could backfire. Read Alexander Bolton's reporting on Senate Democrats' disagreements. COMING UP The House and Senate are in. President Trump is in Washington. (All times EST) 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt briefs reporters. 💻 Livestream 2 p.m.: Two Senate votes to end debate. More votes are expected later today. 📆 Today's agenda 2 p.m.: Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) spoke with the podcast 'Sources Say' with Juliegrace Brufke before reporting to jail. 💻 Watch 3 p.m.: The U.N. Security Council meets to discuss the war in Gaza. 💻 Livestream 3:30 p.m.: First and last House votes. 📆 Today's agenda 5 p.m.: Trump signs executive orders and delivers remarks at an AI summit. 🍋 An excellent reason to celebrate: Today is National Lemon Day! I stumbled upon The New York Times Cooking's list of its ' 17 most lemony recipes ' and … holy moly. 😍 🚗 Uber will let women request each other for rides: Uber announced it is testing a new feature to let female drivers and riders avoid being paired with men. 🍂 Do you follow the Gregorian calendar or the Starbucks-ian one?: Starbucks's fall menu will debut on Aug. 26 this year, a bit later than last year. I'm intrigued by the new Pecan Oatmilk Cortado. : Republicans want to name it after first lady Melania Trump.
