New York City is using ranked choice voting in its Democratic mayoral primary election, a system that takes some explaining, even for people who have used it before. Ranked choice is based on a simple premise: Democracy works better if people aren't forced to make an all-or-nothing choice with their vote.

Here are five takeaways from New York City’s second experience with ranked-choice voting, and how it helped Zohran Mamdani secure a decisive victory.

New York City’s Board of Elections released the first tally of ranked-choice voting results Tuesday, a now-less-climactic tally that appears to seal the Zohran Mamdani deal for Democrats after the 33-year-old’s stunning showing against Andrew Cuomo in the mayoral primary last week.