Tuesday is New York's presidential primary election day. Although the candidates for the two major political parties are almost officially decided, voters in the state can head to the polls and cast their votes until 9 p.m.
On the Democratic side, President Joe Biden is the de facto nominee. Voters will also have Dean Phillips, who suspended his campaign, and Marianne Williamson, who recently lifted her suspension, on their ballots. On the Republican side, Donald Trump is running unopposed following the resignation of Nikki Haley.
Voters completed eight days of early voting on Saturday, one day less than usual due to Easter Sunday. According to the State Election Commission, about 101,000 people in the state have already cast their votes to date. More than half of those votes came from New York City. Turnout in New York's primary is expected to be incredibly low, both because there is no election scheduled for November and because the outcome is predetermined.
But a coalition of progressives and pro-Palestinian activists is making a last-minute push for Democrats to vote in the primary, protesting Biden's continued military support for Israel's invasion of Gaza. They are asking people to leave their ballots blank. A worsening humanitarian crisis. This is similar in spirit to “Uncommitted” campaigns in states like Michigan and Minnesota. But unlike those states, New York doesn't have an “uncommitted” or write-in option on the ballot, so organizers are asking voters to submit blank ballots instead.
Many groups have signed on to the campaign, including the Working Families Party and the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. multiple members of parliament State Sen. Jabari Brisport, Reps. Zoran Mamdani and Marcela Mitaines, and City Councilors Tiffany Caban and Shahana Hanif also support the bill.
State election officials count blank votes, but historically they do not report blank votes on election night in presidential primaries. The state BOE told City & State last month that it does not plan to include the total number of blank votes cast in unofficial election night results, but that information will be released as part of certified election results in the coming weeks. He said he plans to do so. In response, organizers of the Leave a Blank Campaign threatened to sue the state election board if blank votes were not included in the night's unofficial election results.
On Monday night, the board said it had not received notice of any legal action against the city or state regarding the issue. A state BOE spokesperson said, “Unofficial election results include each person's vote as required by election law.” This includes all blank votes and invalid votes.''
On Monday, Leave it Blank election lawyers Letters have been sent to the state and New York City Board of Elections. In at least three cases, it notifies improper poll worker conduct that discourages voters from submitting blank ballots or passing on false information. “We urge all poll workers to be trained and properly instructed on voters' right to cast a blank ballot in this year's presidential primary,” the letter reads.
