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Polls are officially open across the five boroughs Tuesday for the second of two primaries this summer. While the June 28th primary asked voters to decide their party’s nominee for governor and state Assembly races, this one will decide nominees for state Senate and congressional posts.
The second primary came as a result of a chaotic state-level redistricting process that resulted in a judge ordering two primary contests after ruling Democrats illegally drew the legislative and congressional maps. The extra time was required for a court-appointed mapmaker to reconfigure the state Senate and congressional lines.
BE PREPARED IN THE VOTING BOOTH
- You can find your assigned poll site and sample ballot here
- Here’s a who’s who on the ballot for state Senate and congressional races.
- Check out Gothamist’s voting guide for state Senate and two key congressional races
- If you get an absentee ballot, but change your mind and decide to vote in person, you can only do so using an affidavit ballot
While not every district has a primary this year (check here to find out if yours has one), the redrawn maps have resulted in two hotly contested races in New York City, primarily for seats in the newly redrawn 10th and 12th congressional districts.
The 10th congressional district — covering all of Lower Manhattan and western sections of Brooklyn — has 12 candidates vying for the seat (former Mayor Bill de Blasio is on the ballot but dropped out). Top candidates include ex-prosecutor Daniel Goldman, Manhattan Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, Manhattan Councilmember Carlina Rivera, Hudson Valley Rep. Mondaire Jones and former Rep. Elizabeth Holtzman (a full list of the candidates and their bios can be found here).
The candidates largely share the same progressive values, but hold divergent views on bail reform, congestion pricing and student loan debt.
In the 12th district, the redrawn maps resulted in two political heavyweights — Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Carolyn Maloney, both Democrats — to vie for the same seat that will exclusively cover Manhattan, from Stuyvesant Town all the way up to the Upper West Side. Suraj Patel, an attorney who previously challenged Maloney twice before, is also seeking the seat, framing his candidacy as one that would bring fresh ideas to Washington, D.C. Maloney and Nadler have been in office since the 1990s. Regardless of the outcome, the contests will result in New York losing one senior member of Congress, which comes with political cachet.
There are also races for state Senate seats, with Sen. Gustavo Rivera looking to fend off a challenge against Miguelina Camilo, a first-time candidate backed by the Bronx Democratic Party. In Brooklyn, state Sen. Kevin Parker faces a challenge from David Alexis, a democratic socialist who’s been backed by the Working Families Party and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The races have drawn the attention of super PACs in support of Camilo and Parker, two moderates squaring off against progressives.
Early voting turnout was lower than the June 28th primary, when voters cast ballots for governor, lieutenant governor and other races. Figures from the city Board of Elections show 76,335 people cast an in-person ballot during the nine days of early voting. This compares to 86,890 people who visited a poll site during early voting for the June 28th primary. But, the figure can be seen as positive since not every state Senate or congressional district has a primary on the ballot.
If you’re experiencing any issues at the polls, you can report them here to the state Attorney General’s Office or by calling (866) 390-2992.
You can also tell us about your experience — send us an email at [email protected] with the subject line: 8.23 PRIMARY DAY.
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