With the election split into two summer primaries this year, the second round of early voting in the Bronx showed a steep drop in turnout, according to numbers released by the city Board of Elections Sunday night.
Early voting for Tuesday’s primary, which ran from Aug. 13-21, showed final tallies of just 4,556 ballots cast across the Bronx, the lowest turnout of any of the five boroughs. By comparison, more than 10,000 borough residents turned out early in advance of the June 28 primary – a drop-off of 55%.
But the Bronx wasn’t the only one of the five boroughs to see a sharp decline in voter participation this month as Queens’ numbers plummeted 71% to just 4,900 votes cast early compared to 17,157 in June. Brooklyn also saw a slight 7% decrease with 23,602 early ballots cast compared to 25,644 in June.
The total number of early voters citywide in August was 76,335, according to the city Board of Elections. In June, 86,890 votes were cast early for that primary.
There were some upticks in early voting for Tuesday’s primary, however, as Manhattan’s numbers jumped from 29,205 in June to 36,852 this month. And Staten Island also saw an increase in turnout, from 4,839 in June to 6,423 in August.
The oddity of two primaries this summer was due to the state’s redistricting process, which dragged on for months and was ultimately settled in court. When the new maps were finally approved on May 21, congressional and state Senate primaries for were pushed back to Aug. 23.
June’s primary included races for state Assembly and statewide contests, most notably gubernatorial primaries in both major parties, Tuesday’s ballot only includes state Senate and congressional races.
With several contested races in the Bronx on the ballot, the polls are open today until 9 p.m.
Reach Christian Falcone at cfalcone@schnepsmedia.com or (718) 260-2541. For more coverage, follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @bronxtimes
