This Tuesday the Republican and Democratic primary elections will be held in New York, where voters from both political organizations will be able to offer their opinion about the presidential candidates in the crucial contest on November 5.
This April 2, voting centers will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
To reconfirm your voting site in the Big Apple, you can consult the digital tool of the NYC Board of Elections (BOENYC): Find My Poll Site on the vote.nyc website.
“You must belong to a political party to vote in the primary elections. Confirm your online registration and clarify all your doubts about your participation through our platforms,” BOENYC stressed this Monday.
The New York state primaries are closed, which means that only members of a political organization can vote on this day.
Keep in mind that if you are disabled, do not speak English fluently or have a mobility problem, that should not be a reason not to go to the centers, as there will be special staff who can help you.
If you have questions about your registration, there are many ways to access that information.
Although in fact, at this time, neither President Joe Biden nor former President Donald Trump face significant challenges in New York, because they have already secured more delegates than they need to win the nominations, those who promote electoral participation, urge to go to the polls, as a support for democratic energy.
“Specifically for Hispanic communities living in New York, it is an opportunity to show their strength. Although we are sure that the vote always moves much more on the day of the presidential elections, it is important that we attend all the processes, where our opinion is required,” highlighted Eddy Cuesta, director of the non-partisan organization Dominicanos USA, ( DUSA) that promotes electoral participation in New York.
Early voting was very weak
During the day of early or advanced voting in the five counties, 55,879 voters went to the centers enabled last week, a truly tiny percentage, if one takes into account that the electoral registry includes exactly 5,153,347 voters in the city.
Given these results, Cuesta interprets that the trends so far show that early voting days have been marked by apathy. That is why, in his opinion, it is important to continue expanding information campaigns about this type of early process, which is relatively new in New York.
“We are asking Hispanics to go out and vote. It is the only way to demonstrate our ability to make changes in our communities. In these primaries, we have focused on mobilizing voters between the ages of 18 and 39, through registration days and reminders of voting dates,” said the activist.
“Let’s also vote in the primaries”
As the Naleo Educational Fund has specified, facing the presidential elections, it is projected that one million Latinos in New York will vote this November, which translates into an increase of 12.4% since 2020 and 13.1% since 2016.
The Latino share of all New York voters in 2024 is expected to be 11.7%. More than 15 percent of voting-age citizens in New York are of Latin American origin, mainly from the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Colombia. In addition to the largest portion of Puerto Ricans living in the continental United States.
Although historically, party internal elections are usually defined by few voters, on this occasion some voters such as the Dominican Ramón Flores, 80, consider that this year is too decisive to ignore any call to vote.
“There is nothing certain. We must take advantage and honor the freedom this country gives us. In our case, New York is like a small country, which has its political peculiarities. We Latinos have to say that we care about our destiny,” said the person who cast his first vote in an election in the country in 1993.
In the internal consultation processes of political organizations, where only candidates are chosen, the trend in New York and the entire country, in recent decades, has been an abstention that exceeds 92% of the voter registration.
The last internal presidential consultation was held in 2020 in the midst of the terrible situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, a time when there were many fears about crowds.
On this occasion, the young Venezuelan, Sami Mazloum, although he made his debut as a voter in 2020, assures that he will make the effort to participate this Tuesday in this electoral event and in all those that come.
“I have the experience of my country that apathy and little participation in political affairs, especially when we are enabled to do so, brings very negative consequences. I am concerned about the fate of this nation and this city. I am distressed by the direction many things are taking. And for me, giving my opinion is in electoral spaces, it is almost a duty, more than a right,” Mazloum concluded.
Check online or by phone how and where to vote:
- If you live in NYC, call 1-866-868-3692 or 212-487-5496 to clarify any questions about your participation in this process.
- If you reside outside of New York City call 212-868-3692
- On the official website of the New York Board of Elections you can find all the information regarding these primary elections: vote.nyc
- On the digital portals www.nycvotes.org and portal.311.nyc.gov you can also find details of the process and consult your voting site.
Voters in NYC:
- 5,153,272 voters registered in New York City to vote, of which 1,512,402 are of Latino origin.
- 3,420,848 are currently registered as Democrats and 529,310 as Republicans
- 4,666,535 residents of the five boroughs were registered to participate in the 2020 presidential election.