New Yorkers headed to the polls on Thursday to vote in primaries for statewide races, three months after the state voted for candidates in federal primaries. New York is the only state in the country which has separate election days for federal and statewide primaries.
Choosing the Democratic nominee for governor
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, is seeking his third term. He is facing an unexpectedly serious primary challenge from Cynthia Nixon, an activist and actress who, if elected, would become the first state executive to have won Emmy, Grammy and Tony Awards.
Cuomo is the son of famed former New York governor and almost-presidential candidate Mario Cuomo. Nixon has tapped into a vein of progressivism that helped Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez win her primary against Rep. Joe Crowley in June. She is also trying to capitalize on fatigue with Cuomo’s leadership and corruption in Albany, the state capital. One of Cuomo’s former top aides was found guilty on corruption charges in March, while a number of other onetime Albany heavyweights have faced similar charges.
Despite enthusiasm for Nixon in some quarters and on social media, Cuomo has held substantial leads against Nixon in the polls. A Siena College poll released last week showed Cuomo with a 41-point lead over Nixon, 63 percent to 22 percent. A Quinnipiac University poll similarly found Cuomo with a 36-point lead. But Nixon has tried to draw attention to a series of gaffes from the Cuomo campaign in recent weeks, such as when the governor said that “America was never that great” during an August rally and then quickly backtracked.
Races down the ballot
Cuomo’s ticket is also in danger of being thwarted by insurgent candidates. His running mate, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, is facing a serious primary challenge from progressive New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams. His preferred pick for attorney general, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James, is mired in a four-way primary.
Attorney general candidate Zephyr Teachout, who launched an unsuccessful primary bid against Cuomo in 2014, has been endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has also endorsed Williams. Teachout is running on a platform of tackling corruption in Albany. The other candidates are Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney and former Cuomo official Leecia Eve.
New York State Senate race
In the state Senate, several progressive challengers are looking to knock off incumbent Democrats who used to caucus independently from mainline Democrats, allowing Republicans to have the majority in the chamber for the past decade. Alessandra Biaggi, who is challenging former Independent Democratic Conference leader Jeff Klein, has been endorsed by big Democratic names in the state like Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand.
Voting issues in New York City
New York has a notoriously opaque voting system. For example, if a person wanted to register with a party or switch parties to be able to vote in Thursday’s primaries, they needed to register by Oct. 13, 2017, almost a full year before the actual election. New York also does not have early voting.
But beyond structural issues, polling sites in New York City had serious problems on Thursday. Several people who showed up to their normal polling places were not on the rolls when they arrived, and therefore had to vote by filling out an affidavit ballot.
Even New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s son, Dante, was not on the rolls when he arrived at his polling place.
Polls opened at 6 a.m. in New York City and surrounding counties, and opened at 12 p.m. in 49 upstate counties. Polls close at 9 p.m.
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