In Brooklyn, June Primary Is THE Election Day
New York State’s primaries are on June 23 this year and since with the exception of Bay Ridge all local Brooklyn races are solidly Democratic, whoever wins in the June primary wins in November.
The stakes are high in what is an extremely poorly attended voting event under the best of circumstances, and that is now further complicated by the PAUSE in effect in NYC.
On the ballots this year, we have contested seats from the President down to local district leaders. People we elect will be the ones to lead us – the city, the county, the state, and the country – out of this crisis and through recovery, and while we always should exercise our right to vote, we really need to make sure that the best candidates for the job get selected – and in Brooklyn, that will happen on June 23.
We will be sharing more profiles of candidates as the election day nears, and you can always find out more about the candidates, and for incumbents – their voting record, on Ballotpedia or vote411.org.
To find who’s on the ballot for you, and where you can vote, you can use https://nyc.pollsitelocator.com/. For me, it gave Brooklyn College as an early voting site (early voting starts June 13) and the local library as the polling site on primary day, however, both the college and the library are still closed due to COVID-19 restrictions, and no additional information is currently available.
If you are a registered voter and there is a contested election in your district, you should have received in the mail an application for absentee ballot, but you can also request one online – check temporary illness /COVID-19 as the reason if you want to avoid standing in line to vote – authorities are encouraging for people to vote by mail if they can, including those who have temporarily left the city as the result of the pandemic.
Deadlines are as follows:
- By mail – the application must be postmarked no later than May 29, 2020, and received by a board of elections no later than June 3, 2020, to be eligible to vote in the Primary.
- You may register at your local board of elections or any state agency participating in the National Voter Registration Act, on any business day throughout the year but, to be eligible to vote in the State and Local Primary, your application must be received no later than May 29, 2020.
- Change of address – Notices of change of address from registered voters received by June 3, 2020, by a county board of elections must be processed and entered in the records in time for the Primary.
- If you wanted to change your party, the deadline has passed. An application to change one’s party enrollment for any primary election in 2020 must be received by the board of elections no later than February 14, 2020.
2020 Voting by Absentee Ballot Deadlines:
- June 16 is the last day to postmark an application or letter of application by mail, or send an email or fax for an absentee ballot.
- June 22 – Last day to postmark ballot. Must be received by the local board of elections no later than June 30th.
- June 23 (PRIMARY DAY) – Last day to deliver ballot IN-PERSON to the local board of elections (by someone other than the voter).