This story was last updated on November 8th at 3:15 pm.
Voting for the midterm elections began at 6 a.m. today, and Bronxites have until 9 p.m. to cast their ballots in Congress and the state race.
As of noon Tuesday, data from the New York City Board of Elections showed that 50,238 Bronxites had checked in at their polling places. The total number, including voting check-in, stood at 89,307 as of noon on election day. About 11.3% of all registered Bronx voters, who had already voted early, had cast their vote by noon on Tuesday.
— NYC Election Board (@BOENYC) 8 November 2022
Polling workers at JHS 144 Michelangelo in Pelham Gardens, one of the polling places in this year’s general election, told the Bronx Times that as of 1:10 p.m. a total of 384 ballots had been scanned.
At the New York City Housing Authority Marble Hill Community Center, polling workers said voting was “slow” on Tuesday — with 183 check-ins as of 1:41 p.m. A construction worker at the community center told the Bronx Times on Tuesday that That was ‘yet haven’t seen anyone who is under 40 almost all day votes’.
But some voters do so with a specific purpose in mind to participate in the election.
Voter Nathaniel Robinson said he was particularly invested in the gubernatorial race between New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Long Island Republican US Rep. Lee Zeldin. He told the Bronx Times that he is voting for Hochul in an effort to ensure access to abortion in New York.
“I’m for women who make their own choices with their bodies,” Robinson said. “I have a bunch of sisters and everything, so I think their choice and their decision is their decision, not (something) that has to be mandated from the state or the governor.”
Christina Cubas voted earlier today at her polling place in Manhattan, ahead of her shift as a caretaker at the NYCHA Fort Independence Senior Center in the Bronx. He said that public safety was one of the major issues that forced him to come out and vote.
In Spanish, Cubas told the Bronx Times that she wants the police to be back the way they used to be – to solve problems on trains for them, motorcycles and scooters for them and something about robberies and overall crime. to do.
A man at the polling place of Holy Family School in Parkchester – who asked to remain anonymous – said he usually votes Democrat, but is considering voting Republican in this election because of income insecurity and inflation. which he said Hochul is not addressing adequately.
“Life is too expensive, so this administration, I believe, they are not doing very well,” said the voter. “We are poor people… so we need to lower the price.”
Polling personnel at Holy Family School said they had counted a total of 154 ballots as of 3 p.m. Tuesday.
Although most races for Congress and the state legislature on the Bronx ballots are not expected to be competitive, this year’s race for governor is expected to be much closer than that of the Democrats. For example, FiveThirtyEight found that by Monday, Hochul had just one Average lead of 7.8 points Over Zeldin.
In the statewide race, state Comptroller Thomas Dinapoli and Attorney General Letitia James are up against Republican challenger Paul Rodriguez of Brooklyn and Michael Henry of Queens native, respectively.
In Congress, a total of 35 Senate seats – 12 Democratic seats and 23 Republican seats – are up for election in 2022. Democrats control the chamber 50-50 based on the vote of Vice President Kamala Harris.
NYC voters also have the opportunity to pick their picks on various ballot measure,
ballot proposal
1. State Bond Act for Climate Resilience and Pollution
Voting yes authorizes the state to seek $4.2 billion by issuing bonds, with the money divided into several large buckets to be spent over five to 10 years:
- $1.5 billion for pollution reduction; wetland protection; retrofitting; Green Energy Projects; zero-emissions school bus fleet; and urban forestry programs.
- $1.1 billion for shoreline restoration; protect flood prone infrastructure; and ecological restoration programs.
- $650 million for land and fish hatchery conservation.
- $650 million for sewage infrastructure; reducing storm and agricultural runoff; And addressing algae blooms.
2. Adding a New Preamble to the City’s Charter
Voting yes would authorize the city government to amend its charter – its core rulebook – to include a preamble that emphasizes the city’s commitment to diversity.
3. Creating a New City Office of Racial Equality
Voting yes would allow the city to create a mayoral office of racial equality, as well as require a series of biennial reports on racial equity from that office and each city agency. The initiative will also create a Permanent Commission on Racial Equality which will provide input on city planning and policy.
4. The need for the city to measure the “true” cost of living
To vote yes would require the city to develop a new metric to inform policymaking: tabulating the “real cost of living” for New York City. Such metrics will not take into account public or private assistance, such as housing vouchers, and “housing, child care, child and dependent expenses, food, transportation, health care, clothing, general hygiene products, cleaning products, household items, telephone”. service, and internet service. ,
early voting
About 9.14% of active voters registered across the city, or 432,634 people, showed up to vote early between October 29-November. 6, according to data from the City Board of Elections. In Manhattan, 133,618 people voted early, which is 13.44% of the active voting population in the borough.
While Staten Island saw only 35,868 voters in the early elections, this figure represents 11.57% of Richmond County’s active voting population.
There were a few thousand more voters in the Bronx than Staten Island, with 39,069 early voters, but this figure represents just 5.35% of the active voting population in the northernmost borough.
The following races appear on Tuesday’s election ballot:
Governor
Dependent: Kathy Hochul (Democrat)
Challenger: Lee Zeldin (Republican)
state controller
Dependent: Thomas Dinapoli (democratic)
Challenger: Paul Rodriguez (Republican)
attorney general
Dependent: letitia james (democratic)
Challenger: Michael Henry (Republican)
US Senate
Incumbent: Chuck Schumer (Democrat)
Challengers: Joe Pinion (Conservative Party); Den Care (Independent)
US House of Representatives
13th Congress District
Incumbent: Adriano Espaillat (Democrat)
Challenger: Odell Patterson (Independent)
14th Congress District
Incumbent: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat)
Challengers: Tina Forte (Republican), Desi Kueller (Orthodox)
15th Congress District
Dependent: Richie Torres (Democrat)
Challenger: Stylo A. Supskis (Republican)
16th Congress District
Dependent: Jamal Bowman (Democrat)
Challenger: Dr. Miriam Levitt Fleisser (Republican)
state senate
31st senatorial district
Incumbent: Robert Jackson (Democrat)
Challenger: Donald Skinner (Republican)
32nd State Senate District
Incumbent: Luis Sepulveda (Democrat)
Challengers: Antonio Melendez Sr. (Republican), Dion Powell (Conservative)
34th State Senate District
Challengers: Natalia Fernandez (Democrat); Samantha Zerka (Republican)
it’s an open seat
33rd and 35th state senatorial districts
Winners: Gustavo Rivera, 33rd Senate District Incumbent, and Jamal Bailly, 35th Senate District Incumbent, ran unopposed in the general election.
state assembly
77th Assembly District
Incumbent: Latoya Joyner (Democrat)
Challenger: Tanya Carmichael (Republican)
78th Assembly District
Challengers: Jorge Alvarez (Democrat), Michael Distor (Republican)
it’s an open seat
79th Assembly District
Dependent: Chantel Jackson (Democrat)
Challenger: Richard Bryan (Republican)
80th Assembly District
Challengers: John Zacaro Jr. (Democrat); Phyllis Nastasio (Republican)
it’s an open seat
81st Assembly District
Incumbent: Jeffrey Dinowitz (Democrat)
Challengers: Jessica Altagracia Woolford (working family); Kevin Pazmino (Conservative Party)
82nd Assembly District
Incumbent: Michael Benedetto (Democrat)
Challenger: John Graney (Republican)
83rd Assembly District
Dependent: Carl Hasty (Democrat)
Challenger: Tristan Davis (Republican)
84th Assembly District
Dependent: Amanda Septimo (Democrat)
Challenger: Rosaline Nieves (Republican)
85th Assembly District
Dependent: Kenneth Burgos (Democrat)
Challenger: Lauryn Berry (Republican)
86th Assembly District
Incumbent: Yudelka Tapia (Democrat)
Challenger: Betty Obregón (Republican)
87th Assembly District
Dependent: Karin Reyes (Democrat)
Challenger: Ariel Rivera-Diaz (Republican)
This is a developing story.
— Camille Botello, Aaliyah Schneider and ET Rodriguez contributed to this report.
Keep coming back with us throughout the day for Election Day updates. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for more coverage @bronxtimes
