Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Jerry Skurnik

Jerry Skurnik

  • Small Number of Votes Likely to Carry Harlem Special Election

    nyc boe photo voting machines cropped

    photo: NYC Board of Elections


    When City Council Member Rafael Salamanca Jr., a Bronx Democrat, was elected in a special held on February 23 last year, only 3,764 ballots were cast and he received 1,455 of them. There were five other candidates in the race.

    In 2013, almost exactly four years

    ...
  • New York Primaries are Closed, Repetitive and Costly

    cuomo voting 2015 machine

    Gov. Cuomo votes in 2015 (photo via Governor's Office)


    In April, Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump won the Democratic and Republican New York presidential primaries, respectively. New York has a well-publicized and worsening voter turnout problem, and approximately one in four registered New York voters could have no say in the presidential primary outcomes even if they wanted to - other than by changing their party affiliation more than a year prior.

    New York is one of only ...