Are you reading this on your phone, hunched behind the white privacy panels of your voting booth, realizing you’re woefully unprepared to do your civic duty and darken various bubbles? Are you studying before you vote, and realizing your knowledge might have a gap or two? Or are you simply an electoral politics freak who wants to revisit local news?
Whatever your situation, Gothamist has the answers for you. Here’s a roundup of the key races New York voters will decide this November – and our stories on each. We also have resources on how to vote and what you need to know about elections in New York.
This is your guide to…
Ballot initiatives
Question one: This is a statewide anti-discrimination measure. A “yes” result would add language to the equal protection clause in the state constitution seeking, among other things, to enshrine the right to abortion throughout New York. Here’s more on what it would do, and why the word “abortion” won’t appear on your ballot.
That’s the only question applicable statewide. The next five questions are just for New York City voters. They’d amend the city charter, which is the city’s version of a constitution.
Question two: This measure would expand the city sanitation department’s enforcement authority, allowing the department to clean areas currently outside its jurisdiction. It would also empower the department to issue fines to street vendors, which some advocates have warned could lead to aggressive crackdowns.
Question three: Passing this would give the mayor’s office more oversight of the City Council’s lawmaking process, particularly related to how it does its budgeting.
Question four: This one would also give the mayor’s office more oversight of the City Council’s lawmaking process, this one as it regards public safety agencies (like police and firefighters).
Question five: This measure would alter which details the city considers in its capital planning process, which allows it to pay for infrastructure projects.
Question six: This would enshrine a new city government role Adams created, the Chief Business Diversity Officer, and give the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment the authority to issue film permits. (Currently, it’s done by a different city department.)
You can read more about those five proposals here. They came from a charter revision commission formed by Mayor Eric Adams. The City Council opposes questions two through six, arguing they’re a brazen power grab that Adams is using to undermine Council oversight.
The races
New York has 26 congressional districts, six of which are considered close enough to help determine which party dominates the House of Representatives next year.
There’s the race in the Hudson Valley’s 17th District between Republican Rep. Mike Lawler, former Democratic Rep. Mondaire Jones and a mysterious third party candidate suspected of being a GOP plant.
In Long Island's 4th District, Democrat Laura Gillen seeks to unseat Republican Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, and in the Hudson Valley's 19th District, Republican Rep. Marc Molinaro is fending off a challenge from Democrat Josh Riley. Immigration has been a top concern in both races. The D'Esposito-Gillen race has turned their Long Island district into a microcosm of the national fight over abortion rights.
And in the Hudson Valley’s 18th District, a star New York progressive is getting involved in fellow Democratic Rep. Pat Ryan’s tight re-election race against Republican challenger Alison Esposito.
In the 1st District on Long Island, John Avlon, a former journalist, CNN pundit and speechwriter for Rudy Giuliani, is running as a Democrat to unseat Republican Rep. Nick LaLota. It's not as tight as the 4th District matchup between D’Esposito and Gillen, according to the Cook Political Report, but still worth watching.
Because New York is so crucial for deciding who controls the House, outside spending has been pouring in. In fact, the 19th District contest between Molinaro and Riley has been the second most expensive in the entire country.
There’s also one U.S. Senate race, which is not competitive. Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is running for re-election against Republican Mike Sapraicone. According to the most recent Siena College poll, she’s ahead by 26 points.
Don’t forget the bottom of the ballot! Most of the races for the New York state legislature are not competitive, but there are a few tight contests in the city. Read about those here.
And if you're confused by the long list of (potentially brand new) names you see for certain judicial appointments, we have your primer on how and why New Yorkers vote for judges, too.
The workings of democracy
We aren’t done covering this election. Check back on this guide as we update it with more stories.
