How Did It Go On Primary Day?

By Robert Press

As I write this there are tens of thousand absentee ballots that have to be counted in the Bronx. As long as the envelope is postmarked June 23, 2020 the ballot must count.

There were close to 70,000 Absentee ballots requested in the Bronx and over 700,000 citywide. There was a claim that the Board of Elections didn’t have enough envelopes for all the requested absentee ballots, and another that not all were sent out on time.

At the time of the petition hearings, there were claims that candidates received notices of hearings after the hearings. The answer from the Chief Law Clerk to candidates was that the BOE can not be held responsible if the USPS can not deliver the mail on time. Let’s see what happens here.

That said Congratulations to New 15th District Congressman Ritchie Torres who leads by over four thousand votes, and to the Bronx Democratic County organization.

If you thought Councilman Ruben Diaz was the county candidate you were wrong. I, like many others, thought that until I saw the Torres FEC Pre-Primary filing. As for the three now two incumbents, money talked in the 14th District. Incumbent AOC had over ten million dollars and even after the absentee ballots are counted, AOC should be close to the election day seventy-two percent mark.

In the 13th District, Adriano Espaillat was not as fortunate getting less than sixty percent of the vote against two unknowns. The third incumbent in the 16th District, Eliot Engel is trailing by well over seven thousand votes which should be impossible to beat New Congressman Jamaal Bowman.

32nd State Senate District, incumbent Luis Sepulveda holds a lead of over three thousand votes, which should hold up after the absentee ballots are counted.

79th Assembly District, this was an open seat due to soon to be former Assemblyman Michael Blake’s decision to run for congress. Here Chantel Jackson leads by two-hundred and forty votes over county backed female District Leader Cynthia Cox.

Ruben Diaz backed George Alvarez is short of five-hundred votes behind Cox, and the voters were not as forgiving to fourth place finisher Eric Stevenson who will not return to his old seat. Two others finished behind him. There are well over one-thousand absentee votes that were cast in this assembly district, and the question is, can Cynthia Cox get enough of them to beat Chantel Jackson.

In the last race I had mentioned was worth watching, there will be two new district leaders in the 80th A.D. Former Male District Leader Marcos Sierra has regained his position with a lead of four-hundred and fifty votes over soon to be former male District Leader John Zaccaro Jr.. In the open Female District leader race the winner with a lead of well over one-thousand votes is Irene Estrada.

I left out the 78th A.D. where Assemblyman Jose Rivera demolished his opponent, but his votes did not drop down to his running mates. Female District Leader candidate Jasmin Clavasquin-Cruz trails Maria Gonzalez by over seven-hundred votes, while incumbent Male State Committeeman Oswald Feliz trails Emmanuel Martinez by over three-hundred and fifty votes.

The figures stated come from the New York City Board of Elections unofficial election night results. The results will not be official until all absentee, military, and affidavit votes are counted which may take two weeks or more due to the sheer volume of the ballots to be counted by hand. Any ballot can also be challenged in court as to alleged fraud which the Board of Elections does not rule on.