Tuesday is primary elections day in New York, but what is motivating voters for this off-cycle election year?
Over the last 12 months, New Yorkers have faced many challenges.
New York went on pause as the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the unemployment rate skyrocketed and many businesses were forced to close permanently.
Jennifer Wilson, with the League of Women Voters, said this is why economic recovery will most likely be one of the main reasons voters turn out on primary day.
“I think what people are really looking for from their local elected officials is when are we going to be reopening? How quick can we reopen?” Wilson explained. “Now with summer, can we have our festivals? Can we have our parties? I think those are the things that people are really thinking about at the local level.”
Sunday marked the last day of early voting, but compared to the presidential election, voter turnout was low this year despite the heated New York City Democratic mayoral primary.
While this is not unusual, Wilson emphasized the importance of local elections.
“These local elections are really what impact your day to day life,” Wilson said. “Your garbage collection, your roads, your schools, that's all on the local level. That's your local elected officials, your mayor, your city council person, your county elected official, and that's what we're really hoping people will realize that these local races often have a lot more impact on your day to day life than let's say the presidential election. These are really important races.”
New York is a closed primary state and the deadline to change party enrollment was on February 16. Only voters who are registered with a given party can vote in that party’s primary.
“So if you're a registered Republican and there's only the Democratic primary, you cannot vote in this election,” Wilson explained. “You'll be able to vote in November and vice versa. So just make sure you check. We have a website VOTE411.org where we have all the races happening, type in your address, you can see who's going to be on your ballot, and you may not have a race.”
Polls open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. on Tuesday.
There will be certain COVID-19 restrictions in effect, depending on your polling site, so people are encouraged to bring a mask just in case and, if you want, your own pen as well to fill out your ballot.
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June 22, 2021 at 06:44AM
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What is motivating voters this primary election cycle? - Spectrum News
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