Turnout in the democratic primary for Congress in NY-16, between Congressman Jamaal Bowman and Congressman-elect George Latimer, was 31%, with 76, 360 democrats casting their ballot, after more than $25 Million was spent by supporters of both candidates.
But in other races on primary day in New York state, an average of only 15% of eligible voters cast ballots in the June 25th Primary.
Unite NY, a statewide nonpartisan movement focused on empowering voters, is sounding the alarm, again, after voters failed to turnout for this week’s primaries. According to the unofficial results from the New York State Board of Elections, across the 44 primary elections on Tuesday, June 25th, an average of just 15% of eligible voters cast their ballot. As you can see in the chart below, less than a quarter of eligible voters turned out to vote in Congressional, State Senate and Assembly primaries.
New York remains one of just 10 states with a completely closed primary process, where only voters registered to a specific political party can participate. Yesterday’s dismal turnout, following the 5% turnout in April’s Presidential primary, is more concrete proof that NY voter’s voices are being silenced, as 3.4 million New Yorkers were legally barred from participating.
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising that New Yorkers don’t want to engage in state and federal primaries,” said Unite NY Executive Director Tim Dunn. “We need to make real changes to our system so that voters feel like their voice matters. That’s why Unite NY is advocating for substantive changes to strengthen our democracy and get the state back on track. These include implementing non-partisan primaries and citizen ballot initiatives, and establishing term limits – issues that have the support of more than 70% of registered voters.”
