Jeanmarie Evelly
A polling site in Astoria, Queens.
On Tuesday, New Yorkers will hit the polls to cast ballots in a number of races: for public advocate, for district attorneys in three boroughs, in one City Council race and for a number of judicial posts, as well as on possible changes to the city charter. It’s also the first year residents are able to vote early, with special early-voting polling sites that opened Oct. 26.
Early Voting is ‘Amazing’
The early voting process seems to be going well so far. Brooklyn Daily Eagle reporter Mary Frost cast her vote early in Downtown Brooklyn and called the experience “amazing”:
“Early voting is the way voting is supposed to be,” the paper reports. “The energy is high, and election staffers are friendly. The process is computerized from beginning to end and everything works. You just tell the poll workers your name and they look up your information on their tablets. No more paper books.”
Voices of New York spotlights ethnic and community reporting from around the city. Click here to read more.
But there have been other election-related hiccups. Bklyner reports that the NYC Campaign Finance Board sent general election guide postcards with incorrect poll site information to more than 150,000 voters across the city, an error that lawmakers called “reckless.” Additional postcards were sent out afterwards to affected voters with the corrected information, the news site reports.
One citywide race
Presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren announced Wednesday that she’s backing current Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a Democrat who won the post in a special election earlier this year. Warren called Williams “a relentless advocate” who “isn’t afraid to call out the wrongs that too many people ignore or sweep under the rug,” according to Black Star News.
Williams has not yet endorsed a presidential candidate, according to Politico; he told Gay City News earlier this month that he was “torn” between supporting Warren or Sen. Bernie Sanders, according to a lengthy interview with the candidate where he also discusses various LGBTQ issues, including police violence, criminal justice reforms and how his own opinions on queer issues have “evolved.”
Meanwhile, the Police Benevolent Association and the Detectives’ Endowment Association have both endorsed Williams’ Republican/Conservative opponent, City Councilmember Joseph Borelli, the Staten Island Advance reports. Libertarian candidate Devin Balkind is also running; you can hear more about his platform in this interview with Gotham Gazette.
In other New York City election-related news:
QNS takes a look at the two candidates running for Queens District Attorney and their divergent views on the city’s plan to close Rikers Island and replace it with new borough-based jails.
The Hunts Point Express spoke with Bronx District Attorney Darcel Clark, who’s running unopposed on Tuesday for her second term. The paper delves into her record so far, including efforts to increase alternatives to incarceration for young offenders and her thoughts on bail reform.
The Riverdale Press breaks down a few of the ballot questions voters will be asked to weigh in on Tuesday: one relating to the appointments to the Civilian Complaint Review Board, which oversees NYPD complaints, and another that deals with how the city approves land use proposals.
