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How to actually vote on the absentee ballot for June primary

Absentee ballots for the June 23 primary are now being mailed out. (If you haven’t yet sent in your application please do that online right now — voting absentee is the healthiest way to vote this year.)

You will get one very long ballot that is not easy to decipher — tons of empty space, candidates on both sides of the ballot, a list of presidential candidates, and then another long list of delegates pledged to support those presidential candidates.

Here’s what you need to know.

On ballot side 1, vote for Congress (A), Assembly (B), and President (C).

This should be straightforward, just make sure you see all the candidates.

A. If you are in Grand Street Dems, you are either in Congressional District 7 or 12. If you are in 7, GSD endorses Nydia Velázquez. If you are in 12, GSD endorses Carolyn Maloney.

B. GSD endorses Yuh-Line Niou for re-election.

C. GSD did not make an endorsement for President.

On ballot side 2, vote for Delegates to the Democratic National Convention (D).

This is where it starts to get confusing. The names here are people who want to go to the Democratic National Convention this summer to cast official votes for the party’s Presidential and Vice Presidential nominees. This is independent from your vote in (C) for President, but tied up with the overall vote for President in your Congressional District.

Huh?

Delegates pledged to a candidate will get selected in proportion to the percentage of votes their presidential candidate receives in each district (candidates need to clear 15% of the vote to get any delegates).

At its most basic level, if Joe Biden receives 50% of the vote in your district, then 50% of the delegates pledged to Biden will get selected to go to the convention. Which ones? The Biden delegates with the most votes out of all the Biden delegates.

You do not have to vote for delegates pledged to the candidate you voted for for President. You can vote for up to seven delegates if you are in Congressional District 7, and up to eight delegates if you are in Congressional District 12.

Place ballot in envelope #1, SIGN it, then put envelope #1 into envelope #2.

Even this part may be confusing. The envelope with your name on it and lots of other writing (“Official Absentee Ballot”) is where you seal up your ballot. You must sign and date the very bottom of the back of this envelope.

(Note: the part of the envelope that says “Official Absentee Ballot for” with lots of blanks does not need to be filled out, since this information is already printed to the left.)

Then you put that package into the slightly larger envelope (“Business Reply Mail”), and the whole thing goes in the mail.

You do not need to add postage. Ballots must be postmarked by June 22.

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Challenging Days & Nights

We miss you and wish we could ask you in person — How are you, really?

We have experienced so much loss, suffering, and isolation in the past three months of the Covid crisis, but this last week has been especially devastating, seeing Black people killed and threatened with little or no consequence, members of the NYPD escalating violence against protesters, and our mayor not doing enough to condemn and prevent those actions.

Grand Street Dems believes that Black Lives Matter and we strive to be anti-racist in our personal and political lives. This isn’t the work of one book or action, it is an ongoing effort. There is so much information being circulated right now, and we want to highlight a few of the many resources that are important for supporting the demonstrations happening all across the country, and for our own education and ally-ship.

New York City Bail Funds

Donate money to help get protesters out of jail, even more critical as we are still living with Covid-19. No amount is too small.

Anti-Racism Toolkit from Black Lives Matter

A vast reading list and loads of links to national organizations, including bail funds in cities all over the country.

GSD does not exist without its members. Thank you all for joining and hosting our virtual meetings with elected officials. We will do more of those. The NY Primary is on June 23rd, and absentee ballots will be mailed out soon. If you misplaced your absentee ballot application, you can apply online. If you need help voting, please let us know. If you are in need of other assistance, please get in touch so we can direct you to the proper aid.

We wish you good physical and emotional health, and look forward to seeing you in person again.

In solidarity,
Caroline Laskow, Democratic District Leader

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Wednesday 5/27: Cocktails, Crazy Hats, & Conversation* with Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou

*Cocktails and crazy hats optional; conversation guaranteed.

Our Assemblymember, Yuh-Line Niou, faces a primary challenge on June 23. Grand Street Democrats has endorsed Niou and we encourage you to join your neighbors this Wednesday at 7:30 pm for a virtual fundraiser and get-together to support her re-election campaign.

In the midst of all this chaos, Yuh-Line has been a rock for our district, working tirelessly with constituents, providing the most vulnerable with resources, food, medicine, and masks, fighting for relief for small businesses, and advocating for fair policy and budget justice every step of the way. 

We want Yuh-Line to stay in office to keep fighting for our families and communities, but she’s not taking any money from corporate PACs or real estate lobbyists, and during this time, she needs all the support she can get, no matter how much.

Suggested donation for Wednesday is only $10. With New York’s public matching program, your small donation goes a long way.

RSVP

Absolutely no donation is too small, but if you cannot contribute at this time and would still like to attend, please email ylforny@gmail.com!

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Wednesday 5/13: Remote meeting with Councilmember Ben Kallos and Chris Marte

If it’s possible, we’d like to start talking about the future.

On January 1, 2022, New York City will have a new Mayor, new Comptroller, new Manhattan Borough President, and new City Council members in two-thirds of the city’s districts.

Looking that far ahead is not to escape the health and economic crisis we’re in, rather to focus our response to it by exploring what NYC will look like when we finally come out the other side.

And even though we still have extremely important primaries and elections coming up in 2020, these NYC campaigns are already well under way for primaries that will be held in just over a year.

On Wednesday at 7:15 pm, please join us for a conversation with two of those candidates — Councilmember Ben Kallos, who is running for Manhattan Borough President, and Christopher Marte, who is running to represent downtown Manhattan in the City Council.

Councilmember Ben Kallos has announced his campaign for Manhattan Borough President; Chris Marte is running again for City Council District 1.

Join with Zoom, join from your web browser, or call in: 929-205-6099 (Meeting ID: 867 0677 4770, Password: 868734).

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NY Primary is NOT Canceled

Apply online for absentee ballot

Despite the many headlines you may have read today, New York’s primary on June 23 is not canceled. In fact we have two important contests in our neighborhood, and I don’t want anyone to be fooled into thinking these races have been decided.

The State Board of Elections did decide that the Democratic presidential primary, originally scheduled for today and postponed until June, will not be on the ballot, because only Joe Biden is still campaigning for that seat. But in 75% of New York State’s counties, where there are contested local primaries, polls will be open in June for federal, state, and local elections.

In order to increase turnout, last week the Governor announced that absentee ballot applications will be mailed automatically to all eligible voters. If you want to skip the step of mailing that application back in, you can apply for an absentee ballot online right now. Mark the “Temporary Illness” box if you are voting absentee to keep polling place foot traffic to a minimum during the health crisis.

Apply online for absentee ballot

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4/2/20 remote meeting recap — Councilmembers Carlina Rivera and Mark Levine

Thank you to Councilmembers Carlina Rivera and Mark Levine and GSD members who joined our virtual meeting last night. We had a frank conversation about this health crisis and the challenges to come. If you missed it, and are bored with Netflix, you can watch below:

At the end of the meeting we were able to talk about local volunteer opportunities and resources:

Local food delivery

To help deliver food to local seniors who are part of the United Jewish Council Lunch Club, call UJC at 212.673.9328.

In particular, UJC needs help delivering Passover meals today and Monday in the co-ops.

  • If you can help deliver to Seward, sign up here and meet at the Apple Bank on Grand Street at 11:55 am Friday. If you don’t have your own gloves, mask, or hand sanitizer you may pick up a set at the Seward Coop Management Office on Clinton Street.
  • If you can help deliver in East River, Hillman, or Amalgamated, walk into UJC Friday or Monday from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm to volunteer — 15 Willett Street, right next to Bialystoker Synagogue. Or you can email Lee Berman at lee@grandstreetdems.nyc.

You’ll be delivering a few heavy-ish bags, so it it may help to have a rolling cart.

Phone calls to homebound neighbors

If you don’t want to leave your apartment, Councilmember Carlina Rivera’s office has been organizing phone calls to neighbors who are home alone to make sure they are ok. Contact her office at district2@council.nyc.gov.

Rivera’s office has also been posting regular Covid-19 updates on her website. You can also sign up for email updates here.

Health study from Mount Sinai

You can also help collect data about the spread of Covid-19 by participating in a daily survey from Mount Sinai even if you feel completely healthy:

  • Text COVID to 64722.
  • Complete a survey of your symptoms.
  • You’ll receive a daily text to check on your symptoms.

The goal of this survey is to identify infection and transmission patterns specific to our New York City population. Data will be used to alert health care providers about growing clusters of outbreaks in specific communities across the five boroughs, which will enable healthcare professionals to better allocate resources.

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Virtual Meeting this Thursday 7:15 pm with Mark Levine, chair of City Council Health Committee

As chair of the City Council Health Committee, Councilmember Mark Levine’s Twitter feed has become essential reading for anyone keeping up with the demands that Covid-19 is placing on NYC’s health system.

Then he got sick himself, and followed his own very public advice to not get tested, and to not overwhelm hospitals if your symptoms are manageable.

Luckily, Councilmember Levine is on the mend at home. He’ll be joining us this Thursday for our first virtual meeting to talk about the challenges facing the City at this critical moment.

Grand Street Dems Virtual Meeting
Thursday, April 2
7:15 pm

Join via Zoom app:
https://zoom.us/j/102738126

Join via web browser:
https://zoom.us/wc/join/102738126

Call in:
+1 929 205 6099
Meeting ID: 102 738 126

Why are we starting at 7:15? So that at 7:00 pm we can all clap & play — throw open your window, applaud NYC’s healthcare and other essential workers, then play New York, New York as loud as you can. (You don’t need to wait until Thursday — clap & play is every night at 7:00 pm!)

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Yuh-Line Niou, State Assembly Member (AD 65)

Yuh-Line Niou
Website: nioufornewyork.com
Twitter: @yuhline

I am honored to have previously received the Grand Street Democrats’ endorsement, and I am ready to continue fighting for historic progressive victories and giving a voice to Lower Manhattan. 

I am currently the only Asian-American woman representative in the New York State Legislature. With my 17 years of state-level government policy experience, I have been able to take on tough fights and special interests to deliver for working families: 

1. Affordable Housing and Rent Regulations: As a Member of the Assembly Committee on Housing, we passed the strongest housing reforms in a generation, protecting millions of rent stabilized tenants in New York City. We made our rent regulations permanent, repealed vacancy deregulation and bonuses, invested in affordable housing, and overhauled tools used by bad landlords to raise prices and harass tenants. 

2. Child Victim’s Act: I have been an outspoken champion for the Child Victims Act which brings justice to survivors of childhood sexual abuse. This law amends our statutes to increase the statute of limitations on cases of child sexual abuse and provides a one year look- back window which began on August 14th for adult survivors, who under previous law, were unable to seek civil action. 

3. Transportation: We need to ensure that we have accessible, on-time transit systems while also creating a transportation system that meets the needs of people who bike, drive, or walk. I will continue to fight to ensure that the MTA will have the funding it needs to serve our growing population while ensuring future plans are fair to our community in Lower Manhattan, while promoting pedestrian safety and protected bike lanes. 

4. Public Housing: Since coming into office, I’ve led historic efforts and secured hundreds of millions of dollars in funding for NYCHA. NYCHA is still in great need of permanent, extensive funding and I remain committed to fighting to fulfill that need. 

5. Education: New York currently ranks 49th in the nation on equity in education spending, and we are owed billions more since the recession a decade ago. I have delivered over $1 billion in additional funding for New York City schools. We are still owed $44.3 million dollars in school aid funding, and I will continue fighting to ensure the state gets us our fair share—before we allocate funds to charter schools or private institutions. 

6. Campaign Finance Reform: The only people legislators should be accountable to is our constituents. I led a fight for public financing of campaigns because it is a real, viable system that can fight back against corruption and send a message to our constituents that their voices matter. It empowers the communities that we should be representing in Albany. It encourages individuals to participate in elections through small-dollar donations, and it helps level the playing field, especially for people of color and women, who are taking on special interests. 

7. Criminal Justice: I helped pass historic reforms that fix our broken criminal justice system, including the elimination of cash bail that disproportionately affected Black, Latinx, and 

low-income families. It means that innocent people sit in jail which leads to a whole other host of problems — by eliminating it, people will not be forced to give up their job, become homeless, or be away from their children while awaiting trial. This is one important step in ensuring our criminal justice system is fair and that our community remains safe. 

8. Climate Change and Resiliency: There is no doubt that there will be another severe weather event like Superstorm Sandy — the question is when it will happen. We need to ensure that the State and local government work together to protect and invest in our community, which is one of the most at-risk from extreme weather events. Just recently, I helped to pass the most comprehensive climate change legislation in the nation. This law sets New York on a course for a sustainable future by transitioning our state to clean renewable energy, creating new jobs for communities of color and low-income communities, and reducing greenhouse emissions by 85%. 

There’s more to deliver for our shared values—on all these issues—and I’m ready for that fight. I’m running for reelection because our community needs someone that has genuine experience and knowledge in government, listens, knows the issues, and fights for all of us. I’ve stood with the members of the Grand Street Democrats against anti-Semitic attacks on our community, rallied with them in vigils and community events, and fought together to resolve local issues like the street conditions in Grand Street and Clinton Street, bus line service cuts in our community, and more. I’m ready to continue fighting for our priorities together and would be honored to have the endorsement of the Grand Street Democrats once again. 

— Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou

Grand Street Dems asked each 2020 candidate to submit a statement ahead of our endorsement meeting on Sunday, February 2.