Low voter turnout midway through primary election
See this story at TimesLedger.com.
By TimesLedger Staff
TimesLedger Newspapers
The new polling site within LeFrak City’s library at 98-30 57th Ave. drew less than 90 voters in the first half of the state’s Democratic primary.
Residents of the public housing development fought to keep their polling site — which is located in the Continental room of the complex — when the city’s Board of Elections announced in October 2017 the five election districts would have to vote at a location south of the Long Island Expressway.
The 6,000 mostly minority and elderly residents who utilize the site would have been forced to go three-quarters of a mile to vote. The New York State Supreme Court ruled in favor of the residents.
Jose Suci, a LeFrak City resident, said the attitude of President Donald Trump brought him to the polls to vote Democrat, as he has for decades.
“When [the hurricane] in Puerto Rico went down, he didn’t even know Puerto Rico was part of the United States,” Suci said. “My father and my grandfather have all been Democrats… right now we’re voting for the best of the two and to me the one I voted for was the one.”
— Mark Hallum
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Poll workers at PS 17 — located at 28-27 29th St. in Astoria — had a lot of time on their hands due to the minimal voter turnout in the western Queens neighborhood..
Poll coordinator Sarah Jonker-Burke said there had been a total of 60 public voters who came to cast their ballots in the school gymnasium as of 2 p.m.
“Because it’s a Democratic primary there are not as many people out today,” Jonker-Burke said. “It’s important to show the people who are running that we care about what they’re doing.”
As she walked out of the gymnasium, Adele Bomser, 81, said she voted for U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) in the race against Suraj Patel to represent District 12.
“Always Carolyn Maloney, because she’s great,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sarah Lyons, 25, said she’s neither a Republican or Democrat but she’s supporting Patel.
“I don’t agree with his opposition vote for the 1994 Crime Bill and I don’t support her (Maloney’s) stance on ICE,” said Lyons. “We need to abolish institutions like ICE and implement more caring policies for all Americans and all people.”
Although Lyons has issues with both parties, she said in a primary election people have the ability to shift the tone of a party, even while disagreeing with it.
Just one block away, people trickled in to the gymnasium at PS 234 —located at 30-15 29th St. — as kids filled the hallways on the last day of school.
“We’ve had 296 voters between 6 a.m. and noon,” poll coordinator Robert Moratti said. “We’re not as busy since it’s lunch time, but we expect to see more people coming later in the evening.”
One voter, Michelle, who didn’t want to disclose her last name, said “infrastructure and immigration issues” bought her to the polls today.
— Carlotta Mohamed
Source: Times Ledger
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