128,438.
That’s how many registered voters are enrolled as Democrats in the 21st Congressional District, where five Democrats are vying for the party’s ballot line to replace Republican incumbent Elise Stefanik in November.
152,792.
That’s how many registered voters are enrolled as Democrats in the 19th Congressional District, where seven Democrats are vying for the party’s ballot line to replace Republican incumbent John Faso in November.
How many of you will show up to vote today? The answer is probably not many. But don’t let that discourage you.
If you’re one of those people who generally isn’t interested in party politics and who doesn’t vote in primaries, then you’re missing a major opportunity to have a voice in what’s going on in the country and in which political party controls the House of Representatives for the next two years.
If you care at all about who represents you in Congress in November, then you might want to reconsider your decision to skip the primary.
The fewer people who vote today, the fewer people who will select the party standardbearor. Do you want to leave that decision to a small group of people who may not represent your views?
There’s no Democratic primary in the 20th Congressional District represented by Rep. Paul Tonko. And Stefanik and Faso are unopposed for the GOP nod.
We know learning about candidates is a pain. And with a bunch of candidates on each ballot, it’s hard to know who to vote for. So do a little homework on each one.
Public radio station WAMC has nice little roundups of the candidates in both the 19th and the 21st district races. For the 19th district, visit http://wamc.org/post/ny-19-democratic-hopefuls-debate-wamc. For the 21st district candidates, visit http://wamc.org/post/ny-21-candidates-look-back-campaigns-primary-approaches.
You can also Google the names of each candidate and search for newspaper articles in each of the districts.
To learn if you’re eligible to vote in today’s primary, go to the state Board of Elections website, www.elections.ny.gov, and click on the green square that says, “Want to find out if you’re registered and where to vote?” Plug in your name, county, ZIP code and birth date, and up will pop all the information you need, including your party, voting status, your congressional district and a link to directions to your specific polling place.
Polls are open from noon to 9 p.m.
This primary is vitally important for any member of the Democratic Party who wants a say in who represents the party on the ballot in November.
You get the candidate you vote for.
Make sure you do your part today to elect the right one.
GAZETTE COVERAGE
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