Voters who show up for New York’s Presidential Primary will receive very different looking ballots depending on whether they are Democrats or Republicans.
GOP members will simply be asked to fill in the circle for one candidate among four: Donald Trump, John Kasich, Ted Cruz or Ben Carson who is still on the ballot although he dropped out.
Democrats will receive ballots offering a choice of Presidential hopefuls, Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. But these voters will also have a second selection to make if they wish: which delegates to send to the party’s National Convention in Philadelphia this summer. They could be voting for delegates pledged to the rival candidate amounts to two separate contests.
Names of Republican delegates don’t appear on ballots. These will be assigned after the Primary by Party Committee members in each Congressional district around the State. Delegates in both parties will be apportioned based on how their candidate performs in a given district.
The choices on the Democratic side reflect a certain political reality going into the April 19 Primary. Better-known local party figures and elected officials, considered the state party “establishment”, abound among delegates aligned with Clinton, with labor activists and reformers bearing Sanders’ label.
For example, in Suffolk’s 1st Congressional District, Judith Hope, the former State Democratic Chairwoman, runs as a Clinton delegate. Several House candidates in different districts will also appear on the ballot pledged to the former Secretary of State, including top Suffolk Legislatures' DuWayne Gregory (D-Amityville) in the 2nd Congressional District and Thomas Suozzi and Anna Kaplan in the 3rd C.D.
Sanders delegates on the ballot include Brian Schneck, President of UAW Local 259, in the 1st Congressional District, veteran transportation union activist Eddie Kay of Brooklyn, and at least two State Senators: James Sanders of Queens and Bill Perkins of Manhattan.
To make this Primary even more confusing are some Special Elections. When voters arrive at these polls, only party members can get the Presidential ballots, but the Special Election ballots are open to all voters.
SPECIAL ELECTIONS
- 9th Senate District District, Part of Nassau County
- 59th Assembly District, Part of Kings County
- 62nd Assembly District District, Part of Richmond County
- 65th Assembly District, Part of New York County
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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