NY Presidential Primary

The primary season this season was quickly a forgone conclusion except for the details. Trump v. Biden. One side is republican, and the other side supports a violent overthrow of republican values. The second is the Republican candidate:

A federal judge who has overseen numerous criminal cases against Donald Trump supporters who viciously assaulted police officers during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol expressed concern during a sentencing hearing Thursday that the former president could trigger another violent attack in the lead-up to or aftermath of the 2024 presidential election.

The question would be how much the others would receive, including token opponents for Biden and "none of the above" protest votes. Plus, the American Samoa joker. 

The usual thing for New York is to have the federal and local primary elections on the same day. This was a sensible reform that happened a few years ago. It was a wasteful and unconstructive enterprise to have separate low-turnout primary elections. 

The exception would be the presidential primary which now happens in early April. So, if you are a registered Republican, yes, you still can vote for Chris Christie (not DeSantis).  

Over the years, except in 2008, the winner of the primaries was settled by the time New York voted. So, I did things like provide a symbolic vote for Howard Dean. 

I think that it is sensible to have the voters have a chance to vote their preference. This year, it is especially important to provide a means (of late about 20%) to not vote for Trump. 

It does appear to be wasteful to have extended early voting in New York for a symbolic single presidential vote. But, the state is not so lacking in money that it is not worth it to provide a chance for people to come out, get a taste of how to vote before November and do their civic duties. 

So, vote for Nikki Haley or Marianne what's her name, if you care to do so. Better yet, vote for Biden, if you are a Democrat. New York does not have open primaries. 

One group that can not vote is noncitizens. There is a federal law blocking non-citizens from voting in federal elections. Technically, a person can be a citizen of a state while not being an American citizen. Nonetheless, that would basically be an honorary thing. The Constitution makes American citizens who reside in a state a citizen of that state. 

People who were not American citizens, especially those on the road to citizenship, often voted historically into the early 20th Century. Now, only a few areas allow them to do so in local elections. New York City a few years ago was one of those areas. Nonetheless, a lawsuit blocked the law. 

“Our lives are here: we work, we pay taxes, and we take our children to school. We contribute a lot to the city and its culture, yet we don’t have a say in local matters,” said Santos Veloz. “We are taking this action to ensure that our communities' voices are heard.”

It will surprise few that Republicans are the ones largely behind the lawsuit. An intermediate court of appeals, with one dissent, held that a state constitutional provision giving citizens the right to vote is exclusionary. I doubt this is true. 

A non-citizens group wishes to appeal the ruling to the highest state court. I hope the local law is eventually upheld.

(ETA: City Council asks the court of appeals to overturn the ruling. Mayor Adams holds back.) 

I Vote

I went out to my local early voting polling spot to vote and got a pen with a rubber stylus, and a sticker. The pen did not work too well but it did its job. 

The Democratic ballot had three candidates with five Biden delegates (pick five; there are five options). I checked the Board of Elections website, which provides sample ballots. For some reason, the Republican ballot does not have the delegate part. 

The delegates do explain (at least for Democrats) why they had to print out the ballot for me. I thought since there is a single race, all the ballots would be the same. 

Normally, you go to a specific polling location, which handles certain election districts. When you go to the polling place, you go to the correct table for your district. If you go to the wrong polling place at best you have to fill out an affidavit ballot, which is a pain.  There is a long envelope to fill out. 

Early voting is handled by fewer locations. So, the polling place (instead of having preprinted ballots) prints out a ballot suitable for your location. People in different districts will have different delegates to the Democratic Convention. Thus, for that reason alone, you need a personal ballot. 

I think that might cause a bit of confusion. I guess they wanted to ensure that there were at least some void ballots. People also can provide a blank ballot as a type of "none of the above" option. We will eventually get a count of those.

Anyway, I went out in the rain (it wasn't raining that hard, but I needed an umbrella) and did my civic duty. 

Meanwhile ... 

Today's also Louisiana Primary Day.  

Like New Hampshire, it is easier to get your name on the ballot. Thus, there are various mysterious names, including "Bob Ely" for the Democrats and Rachel Swift (who is a bit of a nut) for the Republicans. 

We will see how things go. 

ETA: It is also Missouri Primary Day for the Democrats. 

There was already a Missouri Caucus for the Republicans. Trump received all the votes. David Stuckenberg was an option along with Nikki Haley. 

LA Results: Trump received 90% of the vote. Biden received 86% with half the remainder being odds and ends.  

Missouri Results: Biden received 85% and uncommitted received 12% (with three delegates). There were less than 20,000 votes in total. [Tuesday] Next up: North Dakota (D).