The Cost of NYC Politics

The price of democracy was awfully high this week. From a total of 441,233 active Republican New York City voters, a mere 20,749 turned out for the closed Republican presidential primary, an election staged at a cost of $12 million. That works out to $578.34 a vote.

The waste was avoidable, and there is more yet to come.

The vote was but the first of three primaries this year. The Legislature has scheduled a Congressional primary in June and a primary for state and local offices in September. Each of those will cost about $50 million statewide, including $25 million in the city.

All should have been scheduled for a single day. But no. Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos refused to hold the state and congressional primaries on the same day in June. So in 2012 New Yorkers will trek to the polls three times for primaries and pay through the nose for the inconvenience. Then again in November for the General Election.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
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