Gotham Gazette
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Demographics
Internet resources for what you need to know on NYC Elections and Voting

by Jessica Green

The Topic: "Elections" refers to the processes through which candidates appeal to the citizenry, and the citizenry chooses who among those candidates will represent them. Also known as: the basis of democracy; a passŽ phenomenon. Near synonyms: voting, campaigns.

The Context: By and large, New Yorkers don't vote. Though the number of registered voters who turn out on election day has fluctuated, the overall trend has been downward. Fewer people voted in 1997 than in 1953, though the number of registered voters rose by more than a million (never mind how many more were eligible). In the last School Board election, a mere 3.3% of those eligible actually voted. This declining turnout has been a gradual process that has become a reality of NYC politics.

The Reporter: Jessica Green is the Managing Editor of The Gotham Gazette.

The Archives: See past monthly updates for Voting.


Jessica's Five Favorite Sites For Beginners:

  • Vote NYC Ð The New York City Board of Elections. A simple yet thorough primer on voting. How, when, where and why to vote in New York City.
  • The NYC Voter Assistance Commission Ð Yet another NYC site that provides the ABC's of voting -- in Spanish, English, Korean, Russian and Greek. Voter reg forms, info on the election year calendar, registration deadlines and elected officials. Learn how to become an election day worker: promote democracy and earn some extra cash.
  • Project Vote Smart Ð A wonk's delight. Enter your zip code to find out who represents you. Extensive information about candidates in all levels of government. Searchable by state, with excellent state legislative links. Biographies and (largely unflattering) pics of all NY legislators. Info on ballot measures too.
  • NYC Campaign Finance Board Ð Information on the financial particulars of candidates and their campaigns. The searchable database on contributions is both impressive and easily accessible: who gave money to whom and how much.
  • The City Council Ð The indispensable road map to NYC legislators and legislative info. Find out who represents you and every other imaginable detail about the Council's workings: rules, hearings, committees, news, legislative agenda, and the list goes on. Links to all other City government sites.


In The News:

The defeat of the proposed changes to the City Charter was the highlight of a largely uneventful off-year election. Though outspent ten-to-one, charter revision opponents won a 76%-24% victory over the Mayor and Randy MastroÕs Charter Revision Commission. The unexpected wide margin of voters who rejected the MayorÕs proposals should serve as a warning to all politicians: Never use a recorded phone message! The other ballot question, a statewide proposal to give non-NYC administrative Judges greater flexiblity in assigning Judes, passed by a 4-3 margin.

The overall turnout for the election hovered around the ten percent mark. As expected, incumbents won in every race in which one was challenged: Christine Quinn in the 3rd City Council District, Michael Nelson in the 48th, Bronx DA Robert Johnson, Queens DA Richard Brown, and Staten Island DA William Murphy, all won by impressive margins over their challengers.

In a rematch of February's special election, Democrat John Sollazzo in a surprisingly close election lost once again to Republican James Oddo in the 50th Council district.

The race for the one open Council seat, ManhattanÕs 4th district vacated by Andrew Eristoff, was easily won by Democrat Eva Moskowitz. Her opponent, Republican Reba Williams, declined to participate in the CityÕs public campaign finance program. Though she spent almost $1 million, Ms. Williams was dismissed by voters who chose Ms. Moskowitz by a 2-1 margin.


Other Recommendations:

  • Prime New York - Congressional, state senate, state assembly and City Council districts. Find out who represents you on each level of government. Voter statistics and extensive maps. Very useful.


Jessica Sounds Off:

A reminder that the deadline for registering to vote in the 2 November election is 8 October. And just to clarify, you can't vote if you're not registered. For more information about registering, check out VOTE NYC. Generally speaking, we vote in appallingly low numbers; buck the trend and go vote.

Visit the Topic Archives!