Latest news with #BoardofElections'
Politico
19 hours ago
- Climate
- Politico
As New York mayor's race heats up, Cuomo warns of inadequate weather plans
NEW YORK — The New York City mayoral race is heating up – literally. With temperatures predicted to hit 100 degrees on Election Day, front-runner Andrew Cuomo is anxious to get his voters into polling sites — and he's demanding better preparation from city officials. Cuomo, the Democratic frontrunner in the tightening race, posted on X, 'The steps outlined to meet the heat at polling locations are not sufficient. Water must be passed out and A/C systems must be installed to ensure that people who are voting can do so in a cool and comfortable environment.' The city Board of Elections' heat plan 'is insufficient, it's unacceptable,' Cuomo spokesperson Jason Elan said. 'We've been clear that the city should be distributing water on site, and that they would be installing a/c systems to make sure that everybody who wants to can make their voice heard on election day.' The former governor has reason to be concerned about turnout next Tuesday: His anticipated victory relies upon robust support from older voters, who are more susceptible to dangerous heat conditions. Board of Elections spokesperson Vincent Ignizio declined to comment on the Cuomo's campaign complaint. The board emphasized its preparation for the heat wave, releasing a statement earlier Thursday that staffers are finding fans for poll sites without air conditioning, 'ensuring a steady supply of water' and pledging a continuous supply of electricity, given the increased possibility of power outages. Ignizio couldn't say Thursday how many of the city's 1,213 poll sites lack air conditioning since the board's 'site-by-site assessment' was ongoing. Contingency plans are in place to keep voting going through power outages, he added. And the board doesn't expect any voters having to wait in long lines, whether indoors or out. 'Our anticipation is that there is ample amount of bandwidth in the system to accommodate the voting,' he said. There are just as many poll sites for the local primary as there were for the presidential election last year, which had roughly triple the turnout expected for the race to replace Mayor Eric Adams. Cuomo was the first candidate to publicly raise concerns about the heat wave. On Wednesday, he called on Mayor Eric Adams' administration to guarantee every poll site is 'cool, comfortable and accessible,' and ensure bottled water is provided to every voter. The former governor is running on his experience and take-charge attitude, and has taken digs at Adams' management. In a statement, City Hall spokesperson Kayla Mamelak Altus deferred to the Board of Elections, adding that it's an independent agency. 'As Andrew Cuomo should know, elections are managed by the New York City Board of Elections – an independent body, separate from the Adams administration,' she said. 'Mayor Adams believes that all New Yorkers should exercise their democratic right to vote, and we are coordinating closely with the New York City Board of Elections in advance of Tuesday's forecasted heat to monitor for impacts.' Cuomo isn't the only candidate with concerns. 'It's going to be blazing hot,' mayoral candidate Brad Lander said Thursday after casting his vote early. 'Let's make sure now that the air conditioning is working in every polling site, and let's make sure it's on in advance.' 'I do not have confidence that Eric Adams' administration will do it,' Lander added. Hot temperatures hurting Cuomo's vote total has been the subject of jokes from supporters of Zohran Mamdani. Cuomo's leading rival has a highly motivated base of younger voters who may be more likely to vote early, or to show up Tuesday despite the weather. 'Someone's worried about the old turnout Make it HOTTER!!!' leftist podcast host Stylianos Karoldis posted on X, referring to Cuomo. 'Praying to God it's a temperature only people under 45 can withstand,' he added. Mamdani's campaign is taking a more sober view. 'We're concerned about the health and safety of every voter, and want people to take every precaution,' spokesperson Andrew Epstein said. That includes the campaign's 'tens of thousands' of volunteers who will be standing outside poll sites as well, The campaign is preparing with pop-up tents, snacks, water and 'a lot of very specific guidance to canvassers to dress appropriately for the heat, to take breaks,' Epstein said. The National Weather Service is predicting a high near 94 Tuesday, with the heat index potentially exceeding 100 degrees at times, calling it 'a true summertime hot and humid regime.' Accuweather is also predicting that the high Tuesday could break the New York City record for June 24 of 96 degrees, set in 1888. Later that year, New Yorkers elected 30-year-old Tammany Hall favorite Hugh Grant, the youngest mayor in the city's history. Hoping to hold off the 33-year-old Mamdani, Cuomo's pushing his supporters to vote early, through Sunday, when temperatures will be merely hot, and not yet miserable. 'While it's hot out in New York today, it's only going to get hotter,' Cuomo's campaign wrote in an email to supporters Thursday. 'So please, vote today, and encourage everyone you know to vote now to avoid next week's extreme heat.' Voting rights advocates are pushing the same message. 'I don't ever remember a primary or any election day in New York state being remotely this hot,' said Perry Grossman, director of the Voting Rights Project at the New York Civil Liberties Union. 'My strong message to everybody is: early vote. Whether it's today, tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, it's gonna be a little bit cooler. Take advantage of it.' Joe Anuta contributed reporting
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Voter turnout tanks in local-heavy primaries; adjudication begins
Following a historic high in November, the voter turnout plummeted in Crawford County from 78 percent to 26 percent on primary election day Tuesday. Crawford County Commissioner Christopher Seeley, chairman of the county's Board of Elections, attributes the drop to local races and said he expects greater turnout in the fall. Primaries typically see fewer voters, especially in years without a presidential election. Seeley said that compared to the two most recent municipal primaries in 2021 and 2023, this one was a little bit lower but near par. 'We weren't necessarily blown away by the turnout, but we weren't surprised by how low it ended up being,' he said. The low turnout does, however, make it harder to recruit poll workers. As of 3 p.m. Tuesday, Centerville marked its ninth voter, which is less than one voter per hour. Seeley acknowledged that it's a tough sell to ask someone to sit there for the day and run the operation with few voters but it's a necessary job. Out of the 4.230 mail-in and absentee ballots sent out, 3,095 were returned, according to unofficial results. In the fall, with heated competition for Meadville City Council and the mayoral position on the ballot, Seeley expects a higher turnout. Other than that, the day went on without a hitch — only minor, human-error issues, if any. The county switched its voting system to Dominion in 2019, and Seeley said that the process continues to get faster as the poll workers and electors get more comfortable with the equipment. The Board of Elections' tabulators and alternate tabulators of official results were sworn in Wednesday, but official tabulation of the results won't begin until election officials have canvassed ballots and adjudicated write-in and provisional ballots. Seeley said that it will be until at least the end of the week until the board has write-in results. In places like Centerville, where nobody was on the ballot, the board is tasked with going through each ballot and reviewing the write-ins. In the case of Crawford Central School District, the fourth and final Democratic nomination was one vote different with eight unresolved write-ins, so the board must review those ballots to determine the victor. 'We value accuracy over speed in all cases,' Seeley said. Official tabulators for the primary election are Board of Elections members Scott Schell, Eric Henry and Seeley. Alternates are Marlo Urey, Tony DiGiacomo, Jenn McCarl, Joe Galbo and Samantha Travis. The county must report its unofficial election results to the Department of State by next Tuesday. As of Wednesday, the Board of Elections had finished going through adjudication of East Fallowfield Township and will be starting with East Mead Township today as it works through alphabetically. The board has to sign a copy of the election results twice to certify an election. Candidates and other parties can raise any challenges to the process in the five-day period between the first and second signings. If there are no challenges or objections, the final computations will be made official with the final signing by the board.
