Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Elections

Elections

  • City Comptroller Candidates Should Make This Pledge to Combat Climate Change

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    The current comptroller, Scott Stringer, with Mayor de Blasio (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    Perhaps the single most important thing the New York City Comptroller can do to combat climate change is to insist that companies in which we invest our $230 billion of pension money adopt the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure. This year, we will pick a new comptroller. We should insist that all candidates for the job pledge to call on companies to agree to the new reporting

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  • It’s Time for a Really Robust Ranked-Choice Voting Education Effort

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    Voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Voting is the backbone of our democracy, and should reflect the will of the people. That is the idea behind New York City’s 2019 vote, in which 73% of voters supported a ballot question changing our electoral process from a single choice plurality voting to a new system, known as ranked-choice voting (RCV). Following the lead of cities like Minneapolis and San Francisco, voters decided it was time to change the way we select the leaders in our local government.

    In party primary and

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  • Candidates, Experts Discuss Potential Positives and Pitfalls of Ranked-Choice Voting Amid New York City Implementation

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    Voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    As New York City implements ranked-choice voting for the first time and prepares for its widespread use this year in special and party primary elections for city government positions, experts and politicians have been weighing in.

    The city’s first ranked-choice election -- a special election in City Council District 24 in Queens -- just wrapped up voting on Tuesday, February 2, and other special elections will take place in the weeks ahead in Queens and the Bronx, voters, candidates,

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  • Manhattan Borough President Candidates Pitch West Side Democrats

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    Lower Manhattan (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayor's Office)


    The six Democratic candidates running for Manhattan Borough President in this year’s election appeared Thursday night at a forum hosted by the West Side Democrats. The five Democratic candidates running for City Council District 6, based on the Upper West Side, also appeared before the club, following the borough president hopefuls. Both primaries are among those happening for all of city government in June and will feature the first full citywide round of ranked-choice voting,

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  • 40 Questions for New York Politics in 2021

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    Many questions for 2021 (photo: Edwin J. Torres/Mayor's Office)


    While we ask dozens of questions at the start of each year about what lies ahead in New York politics, as we look ahead to 2021 many of the 50 questions we had for 2020 are on the table again, either because they are evergreen or because the pandemic froze so much of political life in

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  • Newly-Seated Brooklyn City Council Member Quickly Faces Tough 2021 Primary

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    Former City Council Member Rafael Espinal in the 37th District (photo: John McCarten/City Council)


    Darma Diaz is one of the newest members of the New York City Council, having recently won the election to represent Brooklyn’s District 37, filling an unexpected vacancy at the beginning of December. But her election did not take place under normal circumstances and now the Democrat must defend the seat that she won unopposed in both the June primary and the November general.

    District 37, which covers Bushwick, East New York, Cypress Hills, Ocean Hill,

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  • More Covid Special Elections are Coming; Let’s Make Them as Safe as Possible

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    Voting during a pandemic (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Governor Cuomo just shut down indoor dining in New York City for the second time this year. Hospitalization rates and COVID-19 positivity rates across the five boroughs continue to soar, and the Mayor is warning that a full shutdown is imminent.

    Earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci announced that "we could start to see things start to get really bad in the middle of January, not only for New York state but for any state or city." Amid this dire backdrop, the City’s

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  • Ranked-Choice Voting is Coming; NYC Must Immediately Fund a Public Education Campaign

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    Voters at work (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    The combination of early voting, vote-by-mail, and the desire to vote out Donald Trump made 2020 a huge year for voting in New York City. Despite long lines, when voters are given the right resources and awareness, we can raise the level of participation.  

    As we turn towards 2021, the next chapter for voting in New York City will be the implementation of ranked-choice voting (RCV) for special and party primary elections for city government positions. If properly implemented, it will

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  • Ray McGuire Launches Campaign for Mayor of New York City

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    Ray McGuire (photo: Ray McGuire for Mayor)


    Ray McGuire, a top Wall Street executive who recently left his job to explore a run for Mayor of New York City, launched his 2021 campaign on Wednesday in a video released online and narrated by famed New York filmmaker Spike Lee. 

    McGuire, 63, previously served as vice chair of Citigroup, the global banking giant, and was one of the highest-ranking Black executives in an industry dominated by white men. He left the position in mid-October to lay the groundwork for a campaign to replace Mayor

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  • Voter Turnout in New York City Jumped 7.5% from 2016 to 2020

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    Voters in 2020 (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Despite concerns about how the coronavirus pandemic may affect voter turnout, more than 2.97 million New York City voters cast a ballot in the 2020 general election, an increase of about 7.5% or 210,000 more votes than were cast in the city in the last presidential election, in 2016.

    By election night, more than 2.25 million New York City residents had voted in person, 1.1 million of whom cast a ballot in the nine days of early voting before Election Day. As expected, absentee voting

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  • Deputy Director of NYC Census Effort Launches City Council Campaign in Queens

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    Amit Bagga (photo: Elizabeth Olguin)


    After having helped lead a successful New York City 2020 Census outreach campaign faced with daunting and unprecedented challenges, Amit Singh Bagga is turning his eye toward the City Council.

    Bagga, the deputy director of the New York City Census office, announced on Saturday that he will run for City Council in District 26 in Queens, currently represented by term-limited Demoratic Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer.

    As with many “open” seats in the 2021 election, District 26, which covers Sunnyside, Woodside, Long

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  • Brooklyn, Staten Island Democrats Look to Absentee Ballots to Help Them Hold Their Seats

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    Several local races hing on absentee ballots (photo: @JustinBrannan)


    As New York election officials begin counting absentee ballots from the general election, there are dozens of races that have yet to be decided. Based on the in-person tallies, Democrats in several state and congressional races are currently running behind Republicans and are hoping that absentees will deliver them victories. But in three races in overlapping districts in Southern Brooklyn and Staten Island, areas home to more Republican voters than most other parts of the heavily Democratic city, absentees

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  • After Significant Help for State Senate Democrats in 2018, Cuomo Largely Absent from 2020 Races

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    Gov. Cuomo with now-State Senator Andrew Gounardes in Oct. 2018 (photo: Cuomo/Flickr)


    After flipping several State Senate seats in 2018 and taking control of the upper legislative chamber and therefore all of state government, Democrats sought to hold onto their wide majority this year even with a Republican president atop the ticket. They believed they might be able to win a supermajority in the chamber to match that of Democrats in the Assembly by picking up at least two additional Senate seats, if not more.

    But as Senate

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  • The State of Play in the State Senate as the 2020 Election Moves to Counting Absentee Ballots

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    The New York State Senate chambers (photo: NY Senate)


    Though hundreds of thousands of votes across New York are still to be counted and many races are not yet called, it appears certain that Democrats will retain the majority in the State Senate that they won two years ago, and by a fairly wide margin. But, Republicans seem poised to regain several seats in the chamber to narrow what has been an exceptionally wide 40-23 seat margin and keep Democrats from expanding it to ...

  • How New York's Smaller Political Parties are Faring at Meeting New Ballot Thresholds

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    Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez & NYWFP Director Sochie Nnaemeka (photo: @AOC)


    Many of New York’s smaller political parties face an uncertain future after they appear to have failed to garner enough votes to keep an automatic ballot line over the next two years under new rules that went into effect in this election cycle. Only the Working Families Party and the Conservative Party seem to have emerged unscathed, rallying voters to meet new thresholds through votes for their presidential and vice presidential nominees. 

    As part of the state budget, the Legislature and

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  • After Large Participation and Long Lines in 2020, What Changes Could Improve Early Voting in the Future?

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    A long early voting line (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    New York City's first early voting period in a presidential general election saw 1.1 million in-person votes cast, hours of waiting across the city, and the threat of a court challenge to expand voting options. Experts and administrators didn't know exactly what to expect because of the unprecedented confluence of the coronavirus pandemic, universal absentee voting, and Trump-era political zeal.

    The results point to a number of potential changes that could improve the option in the

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  • Tracking Voter Turnout in the 2020 General Election in New York

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    Voters at the polls (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    UPDATE as of November 15: Voter Turnout in New York City Jumped 7.5% from 2016 to 2020

    ***
    Original article from November 3:

    While final results and tallies are still unknown, it appears that the 2020 election has seen an increase in voter turnout in New York, as it has across the

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  • Developing 2020 General Election Results in New York

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    2020 Voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Results are not official, hundreds of thousands of ballots are still to be counted, and only some New York races can be called as of election night, but millions of votes cast by New Yorkers in the 2020 general election have provided some indication of winners of a number of races.

    In-person voting totals across New York State hit 6,495,194 on election night, per the State Board of Elections, including 2,346,302 in New York City, with hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots still to be

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  • What's At Stake for New York City in the 2020 Presidential Election

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    Joe Biden, with Andrew Cuomo (photo: governor's office)


    The country will be watching, and voting, with bated breath on Tuesday as the most consequential presidential election in decades nears conclusion. More than 84 million Americans have already cast their ballots in early voting and turnout is expected to break records despite the lingering coronavirus pandemic. 

    There’s much at stake for New York City in this election and it’s an understatement

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  • Poll Workers on Their 2020 Training Experience in New York

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    Poll workers (photo: NYC Board of Elections)


    Expecting high overall voter turnout and in preparation for the first early voting period in New York for a presidential election -- which itself just saw over 1.1 million voters cast ballots -- the New York City Board of Elections scrambled to train thousands of poll workers. The COVID-19 pandemic has complicated everything this year, including election administration and voting, with absentee b...

  • 9 Things to Watch in the 2020 General Election in New York

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    Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis, left, & Rep. Max Rose face off in NY-11


    Voting in the 2020 general election is set to come to a conclusion on Tuesday, November 3, Election Day. The full, official results won't be known for weeks.

    The eyes of the world are on the presidential race between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, and it's unclear when a winner may be declared.

    Though it's unlikely Trump can pull off an upset and beat Biden in New York, voters here have been going to the polls in large numbers, just

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  • De Blasio Reups 2016 Board of Elections Reform Plan in 2020

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    Mayor de Blasio after voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In April 2016, just after party primary elections featuring a major error by the New York City Board of Elections, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that he would push for legislation in Albany to professionalize the day-to-day operations of the Board, among other bills that could improve the city's perennially bungled election administration and create more access to the ballot box for New Yorkers. Over four years and several poorly-run elections later, de Blasio made a similar announcement

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  • The Power of Immigrant New Yorkers and Our Allies Must Be Felt on Election Day

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    A message to spur immigrant Americans to vote (photo: Spencer T Tucker/Mayor's Office)


    As a proud Guyanese-American immigrant and a leader of New York’s immigrant community, I’m getting ready to cast my vote on Tuesday, November 3. The stakes could not be higher — for myself, and New York’s 4 million immigrants.

    As a Co-Executive Director of NYIC Action, the political arm of the New York Immigration Coalition, I know what’s at stake for this election. Donald Trump won in 2016 on a hateful, racist platform of

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  • A Healthcare Worker’s Plea: No Matter Where You Live, Go Vote

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    Frontline healthcare workers (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Skipping family gatherings. Skipping necessary doctor’s appointments. Missing school. Missing time with friends. Losing jobs. And the deaths of loved ones. At this point, COVID-19 has affected every single American in one way or another.

    As a frontline healthcare worker, I have seen firsthand the damage this pandemic has caused. While the death toll has surpassed 225,000 in the United States alone and hospitalizations begin to rise again, I have gone to

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  • Max & Murphy Podcast: State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs

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    New York Democrats in 2016 (photo: New York Democratic Party)


    October 28, 2020 - Max & Murphy Podcast: State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs

    Jay Jacobs, chair of the New York State Democratic Party, joined the show to discuss key races for the House of Representatives and State Senate, as well as other issues related to the 2020 elections in New York.

    Listen to the conversation and let

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