Murphy

WNYC's Bergin says on Primary Night she'll be most focused on the election machinery itself: whether the Board of Elections manages the vote in a way that supports rather than suppresses participation.

Labor Day is supposedly when most voters begin paying attention to elections, and if that’s the case in 2017, there’s plenty to look at in the seven days between now and the primary vote on September 12. The New York Times endorsed the mayor Tuesday morning, Sal Albanese unveiled his Rikers plan at midday Tuesday, the Brooklyn district attorney candidates debate Tuesday evening and the Democratic mayoral hopefuls go head to head Wednesday night.

It’s easy to say there’s little excitement about this year’s races, but the plain fact is, we don’t know, because no one has bothered to take a poll and find out. But even if the primary contests for mayor, public advocate, Brooklyn district attorney, Bronx borough president, a whole bunch of Council seats and a slew of party offices don’t excite most voters, there are important questions the press will be hoping to answer over the next week.

WNYC’s Brigid Bergin joined Ben Max of Gotham Gazette and yours truly on Tuesday to talk about the storylines and questions we’re all following this week—what we’ll be watching for in the debate, what’s worth paying attention to on primary night and what will shape the general election race that follows.