New York Might Postpone Primary Until June

Would the race be over by April 28th, anyway? [View this email in your browser]( [Politics Brief from WNYC + Gothamist] [Keep friends and family informed. Forward the Politics Brief.]( Will The Primary Matter By The Time It's Safe For New Yorkers To Vote? By [James Ramsay]( [a voter in Ohio takes advantage of early voting before the primary was effectively postponed] Gene Puskar/AP In Ohio, where the man pictured above recently voted early, the presidential primary scheduled for Tuesday has now been [postponed](. Louisiana, Georgia, and Kentucky [have all]( postponed their primaries, as has [Puerto Rico](. And New York, which is scheduled to hold its Democratic presidential primary on April 28th, may push the election to June 23rd, when the state is set to hold primaries for congressional and statewide races. (The special election for Queens borough president, which was scheduled for March 24th, [has also been postponed]( "There’s no compelling reason to have the presidential primary election in April apart from the other election," Douglas Kellner, co-chair of the New York State Board of Elections, [told the New York Times](. Today — following President Trump's [announcement]( that everyone across the country should avoid groups of 10 or more people — [Illinois]( [Arizona]( and [Florida]( are still holding their scheduled primaries. "We're definitely voting," Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared last week. "They voted during the Civil War. We're gonna vote." Suzy Trutie, a spokesperson for the Miami-Dade Supervisor of Elections office, told WLRN that even if a high number of older poll workers stay home, "we will make do because, to be honest, we’re not expecting a huge turnout." [Overall]( the primaries haven't seen especially high turnout numbers so far. Bernie Sanders [acknowledged]( after Super Tuesday that young people's enthusiasm for his campaign hasn't translated into higher youth voter participation. And FiveThirtyEight's model gives Joe Biden a 99% chance of winning each of today's primaries, with the possibility that blowout wins would "[push the race toward its de facto conclusion and may even prompt Sanders to drop out]( There are also possible ways for New York to hold its primary without physical polling places. Douglas Kellner said it's possible that the method used by military members overseas — downloading absentee ballots online and mailing them in — could be scaled up to serve everyone. But he added that it's also possible, given the trajectory of the race, that the Democratic nominee will be decided by late April, anyway. For live coverage of Tuesday's primary results, tune in to WNYC tonight, starting at 7 p.m., with the national call-in special, [America, Are We Ready?]( hosted by Brian Lehrer. Petitioning For Signatures To Get On New York's Ballot Winds Down Early Heading into this primary season, candidates for Congress needed 1,250 signatures to get on New York's June 23rd ballot. Candidates for State Senate needed 1,000 signatures. And candidates for State Assembly needed 500. But in light of the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Saturday lowered those requirements to 375, 300, and 150 signatures, respectively. He also moved the petitioning deadline to 5 p.m. today, March 17th. Previously, campaigns had until April 2nd to collect signatures. "This is not the best time to be sending people door to door," Cuomo said. "It’s the exact opposite of what we’re trying to do." Many insurgent candidates running against incumbents had asked for the change in requirements, arguing that it was unfairly cumbersome (and risky) for their campaigns to be going around asking for signatures right now. ([The Wall Street Journal]( Some Albany Lawmakers Fear Cuomo Will Pass Sweeping Laws Amid Coronavirus Chaos In normal times, the weeks leading up to New York State's budget deadline is when the governor and legislative leaders, a.k.a. [the two-men-and-a-woman-in-a-room]( get together behind closed doors and shoe-horn a bunch of laws into the budget package. But with most lawmakers delaying their arrivals in the capital because of the coronavirus ([two Assembly members already contracted it]( some are urging Cuomo to stick to a basic budget. "We are all agreed on a unified and focused fiscal response to the health crisis facing our state,” said leaders of four good government groups in a joint statement. "Lawmakers must remain focused on that goal alone, and not try to cram through unrelated policy issues as part of the budget." The governor, meanwhile, said he still thinks he can push through big legislative goals, like legalizing recreational cannabis and amending the state's new bail reforms. He also downplayed the health risks of gathering elected officials in one place. "We’re here in public service, and that’s what we’re doing, at a time when you desperately need public service," Cuomo said. "You joined the military. You know when they need you? When there’s a war – that’s when they need you — and this is a war against coronavirus." Cuomo is trying to get the budget passed by Friday (11 days before the April 1st deadline), before the pandemic completely shuts down Albany. But even an abridged meeting has some legislators worried. "I think [Cuomo is] in denial," one state senator told us. "No one really even wants to talk – we’re afraid to be in the same room with each other." ([Gothamist]( [the logo for How To Vote In America]( What's The Deal With Delegates? On the latest episode of How To Vote In America, host Amy Walter gives us delegate math 101. With primary voting underway, we want to hear what you want out of WNYC's politics newsletter. Send your feedback and suggestions to james@wnyc.org. Thanks! Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential election coverage and more. [Donate]( Copyright © 2020 New York Public Radio, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: New York Public Radio 160 Varick Street New York, NY 10013 [unsubscribe]( [update preferences]( [privacy policy](