NYS— After a ruling from federal judges, New York State’s presidential primary election will go on as rescheduled for June 23. Governor Andrew Cuomo extended the absentee ballot voting option to all NYS voters to avoid the public health risks of COVID-19 exposure. The deadline to register to vote in this primary is Friday, May 29.
New Yorkers were originally scheduled to cast their presidential primary votes on April 28, but the election was postponed until June 23 because of the pandemic risks associated with large groups gathering in voting precincts.
When presidential candidate Bernie Sanders suspended his campaign in early April, the New York State Board of Elections moved to remove every other presidential candidate from the ballot, leaving only the presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden as an option. NPR reports that Sanders wanted to remain on the ballot and secure as many delegates as possible in order to gain more leverage for his policy objectives at the Democratic National Convention. Organizations like the NY Progressive Action Network forcefully supported his position, filing complaints with the Democratic National Committee and filing a federal lawsuit, according to their April 29 press release.
However, when federal Judge Analisa Taylor in the Southern District of New York ruled that all candidates should be reinstated on the ballots, she was responding to a lawsuit from former presidential candidate, Andrew Yang. Following Judge Taylor's ruling that the presidential primary would go on, Yang said, "I hope the New York Board of Elections takes from this ruling a newfound appreciation of their role in safeguarding our democracy."
Though the Democratic presidential primary race has garnered the most attention, several Congressional districts throughout NYS will see both Republican and Democratic primary races on their ballots. Tompkins County is not part of a district with a Congressional primary during this election, but those in Cayuga and Onondaga counties will vote to determine the Democratic nominee for New York's 24th Congressional District. Candidates Dana Balter and Francis Conole go head-to-head in this primary to determine who will run against Republican incumbent John Katko in November.
Voters can still register to vote and apply for absentee ballots, but should be aware of several deadlines as the election approaches.
Voter registration information can be found here, and absentee ballot information can be found here.
Approaching voting deadlines:
Voter registration applications must be received by Friday, May 29 in order to be eligible to vote in the June 23 election. To register for the election by mail, applications must be postmarked by Friday, May 29 and received by Wednesday, June 3.
Absentee ballot applications must be postmarked, emailed, or faxed by June 16
In-person absentee ballot applications end on June 22
Absentee ballots must be postmarked by June 22, and received by June 30
Ballots can be delivered in-person until June 23
All revised voting deadlines for the June primary and the November general election can be found here.
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