What Races Are On The Ballot
- U.S. Senate: One seat, currently held by Sen. Chuck Schumer
- U.S. House: 26 seats. New York lost a congressional seat, as determined by population decline in the 2020 census.
- Governor
- State Senate: All 63 seats
- State Assembly: All 150 seats
Editors note: This guide was updated on Feb. 25 with information about how to vote in 2022. The guide was first published on Aug. 6, 2020. Voting rules, procedures and candidates may change before Election Day. Well keep this guide updated, so bookmark this page and check back.
Also of Interest:
Can I Vote Without Having To Go To A Poll Site In Person
Yes, New Yorkers are encouraged to vote absentee because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Voters can apply online.
The âtemporary illnessâ category has been expanded to cover voters affected by coronavirus or facing the potential of contracting it.
Absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 22 and reach the Board of Elections no later than June 29 to be counted. No plans have been confirmed at this time to extend the postmark date, as was the case last year.
You can also drop off your signed absentee ballot at:
- Your local Board of Elections office no later than June 22
If you drop off your absentee ballot at a poll site or at a local Board of Elections office, it does not require postage, but the BOE recommends two stamps if you mail it to ensure it has enough postage.
What Are The Benefits Of Ranked Choice Voting
Ranked Choice Voting gives you more say in who gets elected. Even if your top choice candidate does not win, you can still help choose who does.
More civility and less negative campaigning. Candidates who are not your top choice still need your support as your 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th choice. This makes them more likely to appeal to a wider audience.
More diverse and representative candidates win elections. Cities that have implemented Ranked Choice Voting have elected more women and more women of color, making their elected officials more representative of their communities.
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What If I Still Want To Vote In Person
Poll sites will still be open across the state.
Hours are different if you are voting early. New Yorkâs early voting period began June 12 and lasts through June 20.
If you would like to vote in person, doing so during this time allows for voter traffic to be spread out so there are fewer people at polling places on Election Day.
Workers at voting sites will take precautions to keep themselves and voters safe. Theyâll be social distancing, wearing masks, and disinfecting when and where they can. If you go to vote, you should do the same.
Because of expanded absentee voting some winners may not be announced until days or weeks after Election Day.
The winner of each primary will be that party’s nominee in the general election. The winner of the general elections on November 2 will be elected to office.
Is That As Huge An Undertaking As It Sounds
Yup.
Typically, less than 4 percent of New York voters vote absentee. So to go from 4 percent to potentially 80 percent, or ideally 90 percent of people voting absentee thats a huge, huge jump, Wilson noted.
At DemocracyNYC, Wood is looking at the primary as an opportunity for a simpler way to conduct elections, pointing to research that shows voter participation has gotten a boost in states that have moved to mail-in voting.
We are very hopeful that people will take advantage of how easy this is this year, she said while acknowledging that nothing is easy right now during this pandemic.
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New York Presidential Primary : What You Need To Know
Democratic presidential candidates, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, former South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and businessman Tom Steyer, participate in a debate at the Gaillard Center, Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020, in Charleston, S.C. AP
Update: Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the New York presidential primary to be postponed from April 28 to June 23 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
New Yorks presidential primary election is poised to play a pivotal role in the race for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, an unusual position for a state whose April primaries usually come too late in the calendar to make a difference.
This year stands out because eight candidates were still in the race heading into the South Carolina Democratic primary on Saturday.
The field narrowed after Super Tuesday, March 3, when 14 states including California held Democratic primary elections.
New York had been considered the next big prize in the Democratic contest. It was among six Northeastern states slated to hold primaries on April 28.
Heres what you need to know about the New York primary:
When
Election Day is Tuesday, June 23. Polling sites across the state will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Why New York matters
Whos on the ballot
Eleven Democrats filed paperwork to appear on New Yorks presidential ballot. The only active candidate is:
Michael Bennet
How Does Ranked Choice Voting Work
You can rank up to five candidates in order of preference, instead of choosing just one. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, they are the winner. If no candidate earns more than 50% of first-choice votes, then counting will continue in rounds. At the end of each round, the candidate with the fewest votes will be eliminated. If you ranked that candidate first, your vote will go to the next highest ranked candidate on your ballot. This process will continue until there are 2 candidates left. The candidate with the most votes wins.
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Redistricting Following The 2020 Census
This section lists major events in the post-2020 census redistricting cycle in reverse chronological order. Major events include the release of apportionment data, the release of census population data, the introduction of formal map proposals, the enactment of new maps, and noteworthy court challenges. Click the dates below for additional information.
- : The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court upheld the Supreme Court’s ruling that the enacted legislative and constitutional maps constituted a partisan gerrymander and set a deadline of April 30 for the legislature to draw new maps.
- : An appellate court issued a second temporary stay through April 20 of the lower court’s ruling overturning the enacted legislative and congressional maps.
- : An appellate court issued a temporary stay of the lower court’s ruling overturning the enacted legislative and congressional maps.
- : A lower court judge struck down the enacted congressional and legislative maps and ordered the state legislature to draw new maps.
Its Still Too Early To Gauge Voter Interest
Speaking with FOX TV Stations, James Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at UT Austin, said polls indicate voter turnout and overall interest is not as high compared to the 2020 presidential election and the 2018 midterms.
Henson believes that both parties are rallied behind strong beliefs, although the GOP appears more united behind a variety of overarching themes like border security. There is also the residue of a political stain leftover from misinformation spewed by Trump that has eroded trust in the system and fueled many Republican voters belief that Bidens 2020 victory was illegitimate.
Despite many ethical concerns surrounding the Trump name, Henson says most GOP candidates will gladly use the former presidents blessing to gain confidence among their constituents.
Henson points out the “ethical issues” surrounding incumbent Republican Texas attorney general candidate Ken Paxton, who has reportedly violated the states open records laws by withholding or failing to retain his communications relating to his appearance at a pro-Trump rally that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last year.
Despite these ethical concerns, Henson believes the Trump brand and Paxton are “familiar” figures to voters. While Henson notes that while ethics are sure to play a role in the midterms, “it appears relatively easy for these candidates to deflect those kinds of concerns.”
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How Your Ballot Will Be Counted
All first-choice votes are counted. If a candidate receives more than 50% of first-choice votes, they win the election.
If no candidate earns more than 50% of first-choice votes, then counting will continue in rounds.
Each round, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. If your highest rated candidate is eliminated, your vote will move to your next highest rated candidate.
This process continues until there are only 2 candidates remaining. The candidate with the most votes wins.
The Week After Primary Day
On June 29, the city BOE will run the ranked choice voting tabulation and release another set of unofficial in-person results. The results will be published on the BOEs website.
The reason for the seven-day gap: The BOE has to retrieve the vote counting machines from all the locations and add up all the data, which is a time-consuming process. These ranked choice results will not include absentee or affidavit ballots, so they will still be incomplete.
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Got Some Time Here Are Some Upcoming Campaign Events
Speaking of events: Our next Civic Newsroom meeting is April 14. We are returning virtually to Mott Haven, Brownsville and Flushing.
Here are details for the second round of sessions:
- Brownsville meeting: Wednesday, April 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. .
- Mott Haven meeting: Wednesday, April 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. .
- Flushing meeting: Wednesday, April 14, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. .
The City Helps You Navigate The 2021 Elections
Our guide is here to make your decisions easier, with details on candidates, the jobs theyre running for, how to use the new ranked-choice voting system and more.
The cured absentee ballots with corrected errors arent due until July 9. In the past, one in five absentee ballots fell into this category, so an official count cant happen until after voters get a chance to fix those errors.
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Who Has The Right To Vote In New York
To be able to cast a ballot in New York, you need to be a U.S. citizen who has lived in the city/state for at least 30 days, not currently incarcerated for a felony conviction and at least 18 years old.
If you turn 18 on or before , youll be able to vote, so make sure you register now. And remember, all 16 and 17 year olds can pre-register to vote, which means you automatically become a registered voter the day you turn 18.
Error Mars Vote Count In Nyc Mayoral Primary
NEW YORK The Democratic primary for mayor of New York City was thrown into a state of confusion Tuesday when election officials retracted their latest report on the vote count after realizing it had been corrupted by test data never cleared from a computer system.
The bungle was a black mark on New York Citys first major foray into ranked choice voting and seemed to confirm worries that the citys Board of Elections, which is jointly run by Democrats and Republicans, was unprepared to implement the new system.
The disarray began as evening fell, when the board abruptly withdrew data it had released earlier in the day purporting to be a first round of results from the ranked choice system.
That data had indicated that Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, a former police captain who would be the citys second Black mayor, had lost much of his lead and was ahead of former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia by fewer than 16,000 votes.
Then the Board of Elections tweeted that it was aware of a discrepancy in its report on ranked choice voting results. It didnt initially explain what that discrepancy was, even as it pulled the data from its website.
Just before 10:30 p.m. it released a statement saying that 135,000 ballot images it had put into its computer system for testing purposes had never been cleared.
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But You Dont Have To Mail It Heres How To Drop It Off
You can drop off your absentee ballot at any city Board of Elections office, any early voting poll site or any election day poll site up until when the polls close on June 22. You can find your polling place here.
Early voting runs from June 12 to 20. You can find your early voting sites here.
Again, heres where the Board of Election offices are:
Note: You can also drop off absentee ballots for other people, as long as theyre properly signed and sealed.
What if I decide I want to vote in person but I already requested an absentee ballot?
Thats OK! You can still vote early or on in person June 22 even if you requested an absentee ballot. You can find your polling place here.
Who Can Request An Absentee Ballot In This Years Local Elections
Because of the pandemic, anyone can request an absentee ballot this year.
In March 2020, state lawmakers passed a law that said a voters concern over spreading or getting COVID-19 counts as a temporary illness when asking for an absentee ballot.
That means that anyone can still claim temporary illness as a reason to request an absentee ballot, regardless of the availability of vaccines or any other factors that may have changed since last year.
Absentee ballots were previously only available for people who were unable to vote in person because they were out of town, had an illness or disability, were in jail or were in the military.
The expanded eligibility will last at least through the end of 2021.
Allie Swatek, director of policy and research for the NYC Campaign Finance Board, said: All voters may request an absentee ballot, using COVID-19 as an excuse, for the June primary and even the November general election. This means that no voter will need to put their health at risk to make their voice heard in our city elections.
Our guide is here to make your decisions easier, with details on candidates, the jobs theyre running for, how to use the new ranked-choice voting system and more.
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Will Aoc Run For President
Although Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has not announced her intentions to run for higher office, she has appeared on the boards at offshore betting sites as a favorite to be the 2024 DNC Presidential nominee. To many, that notion is a dream come true, while it would also keep a large portion of the country up at night.
Can I Track My Absentee Ballot
Yes. New York City voters can track their ballots with the city Board of Elections online tracker. Those in the rest of the state should contact their county Board of Elections to track their ballots. New Yorkers who serve in the U.S. military or are overseas can use the state Board of Elections online tracker.
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When Can I Request An Absentee Ballot
You can request one any time before June 15 to vote in the June 22 primary.
But an important note: The deadline to request an absentee ballot may change to June 7. Theres a relevant state bill passed by the Senate and Assembly that Gov. Andrew Cuomo has yet to sign. The measure would move the deadline date up to give the U.S. Postal Service more time to get the ballots out before the election.
So, just to be safe, you might want to request your ballot before June 7.
When Will The Results Be Announced
Initial results showing voters’ first-choice picks are expected Tuesday night. But the final vote tally and winner may not be known until mid-July, according to election officials.
Absentee ballots are accepted until 29 June as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday. In addition, voters are allowed to fix any ballot errors up until 9 July.
On 29 June, the city Board of Elections plans to run its first round of ranked-choice results, which will show who would have won based on in-person votes only.
One week later, the board will issue a second round of results that includes all absentee ballots processed as of that day. It will continue to do so once a week until all ballots are counted, with final results expected the week of 12 July.
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Primary Elections In New York
| Wisconsin Wyoming |
A primary election is an election used either to narrow the field of candidates for a given elective office or to determine the nominees for political parties in advance of a general election. Primary elections can take several different forms. In a partisan primary, voters select a candidate to be a political party’s nominee for a given office in the corresponding general election. Nonpartisan primaries are used to narrow the field of candidates for nonpartisan offices in advance of a general election. The terms of participation in primary elections can vary by jurisdiction, political party, and the office or offices up for election. The methods employed to determine the outcome of the primary can also vary by jurisdiction.
HIGHLIGHTS
See the sections below for general information on the use of primary elections in the United States and specific information on the types of primaries held in New York: