Piscataway Becomes 10th NJ Town With A Ranked-Choice Voting Local Measure
On May 14th, 2026 the Piscataway Board of Education passed a resolution expressing support for the Municipal and School Board Voting Options Act. This act would authorize cities, towns, and school boards to use ranked-choice voting (RCV) for their local elections. The Piscataway Board of Education joins a growing list of 10 unique jurisdictions that have expressed a desire to use RCV, including Hoboken, Jersey City, Red Bank, Princeton, Maplewood, South Orange, Montclair, South Brunswick and Collingswood.
"We in Piscataway are committed to strengthening democratic participation and promoting electoral processes that reflect the full range of community preferences. Giving voters a full range of choices strengthens the democratic process for all.” said Nancy L. Salgado-Cowan CPNP-PC, President of the Piscataway School Board.
"The passage of this resolution in Piscataway shows that the movement for ranked-choice voting continues to gain momentum across New Jersey. Voters and candidates are ready to change how we vote for school boards, ensuring representation for more of the community, and are tired of the toxic polarization and negative campaigning," said Zach Kerns, Voter Choice NJ Campaigns Team Lead.
Ranked-choice voting is a simple upgrade to the way we vote. It enables voters to rank candidates in order of preference and ensures the winner of any election has the support of, and is accountable to, the majority of voters. Used in countries around the world, RCV has been implemented statewide in Maine and Alaska and adopted in cities such as New York City. Advocates argue that RCV better captures voters' true preferences, helps reduce toxic partisanship, and mitigates problems like strategic voting and the "spoiler effect" that often undermine voter confidence in traditional elections.
The movement for RCV continues to build momentum at the State House. The current 2026-2027 legislative bills, S1643 and A1745, are sponsored by Senators Andrew Zwicker and Linda Greenstein and Assemblymembers Chigozie Onyema and Katie Brennan.
