After a campaign season overshadowed by a deadly pandemic, protests and looting, New York's Primary Day is here.
Tuesday marks the final day of in-person voting and the postmark deadline for absentee ballots.
Candidates for president, Congress, New York State Legislature, and local offices are vying for nominations.
But don’t expect all races to be called by Tuesday night as in years’ past.
The suspense of awaiting results may last days, weeks or even months.
What You Need To Know
- Tuesday is last day for in-person voting and postmark deadline for absentee ballots.
- Primaries being held for president, Congress, State Legislature, and city offices.
- Elections officials, government watchdogs caution some winners may not be known for days, weeks.
“Everybody needs to be patient, and as I have been wanting to say with some of these things: it will not be add water and stir," New York City Board of Elections Executive Director Michael Ryan said last week at a commissioners' meeting. "It’s going to take some time and we cannot suspend the time-space continuum.”
The city Board of Elections (BOE) said last week it has processed about 550,000 absentee ballots this cycle compared to 65,000 in the primaries four years ago.
Even more ballots were sent out in recent days, but the board didn’t have a total as of Monday.
Absentee ballots aren’t due at BOE offices for seven days after the primaries.
They’ll be counted manually and potentially in the company of so-called watchers from campaigns who may raise objections.
Government watchdog Common Cause New York said accuracy and integrity are paramount.
“Because so many New Yorkers have voted absentee, it will take additional time for the official results to be certified, and to ensure that every ballot is counted, the BOE will need to be methodical and take their time," said Sarah Goff, deputy director of Common Cause New York.
Voters who didn’t receive absentee ballots can still vote in person Tuesday.
More than 52,000 New Yorkers participated in early voting, according to an unofficial total.
NY1 is keeping an eye on several competitive races, including for House seats held for decades by incumbents.
In the Bronx, where Rep. José Serrano is vacating his post, progressives, including Ritchie Torres, Michael Blake, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Ydanis Rodriguez, and Samelys López, are facing off — with conservative Rubén Díaz, Sr. a wild-card candidate.
Just north, in the district on the Bronx and Westchester border, 31-year House Member Eliot Engel is locked in a tight race against insurgent Jamaal Bowman.
Neither contender opted for absentee or early voting.
Engel is set to cast his ballot Tuesday in Riverdale; Bowman in Yonkers.
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