New York primary

19 Apr, 2016 13:53 / Updated 8 years ago

They say if you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere. While only two presidential candidates will "make it" at the end of today's primary, a close race will mean more delegates for all five. Follow the day’s happenings and results here.

With 95 delegates up for grabs on the Republican side, and 247 delegates plus 44 super-delegates on the Democratic side, New York stands to either solidify or completely rearrange the presidential primary process.

How the delegate distribution works

The GOP has a bit more complicated process than the Democrats in New York. Of the Republicans' 95 delegates, three automatically go to the overall winner, while 11 are at-large and 81 are awarded based on results in each congressional district. If the winner earns over 50 percent of the vote, then he will take all of the at-large delegates as well. From there, it is conceivable that New York could end in a winner-take-all scenario, especially with Donald Trump polling far ahead of Ted Cruz and John Kasich. It's also important to note that scoring less than 20 percent of the vote wins nothing.

For Democrats, their delegates will be distributed proportionally across the state as well as in congressional districts.

01:56 GMT

20 April 2016

An entire block of Clinton Hill residents found out they were deleted from the voter's registration list after several showed up to vote. They were allowed to vote after they completed an affidavit.

Don't celebrate too hard Clinton supporters, a beer at her headquarter's party will cost you $10. 

Over at Trump Tower supporters are at least being awarded with free ice-cream.

Sanders sets his mind on next weeks primaries while Clinton celebrates

Sanders sets his mind on next weeks primaries while Clinton celebrates

"In this campaign, we've won in every region of this country... but this one's personal," said Hillary Clinton. Adding, "New Yorkers, you've always had my back and I've always tried to have yours."

"We've seen it's not enough to diagnose problems, you have to explain how to solve problems," she also said.

The Empire State building turned red after Trump's win.

And blue for Hillary.

Hillary Clinton wins New York State.

"We don't have much of a race anymore based on what I'm seeing at the moment. Senator Cruz is just about mathematically eliminated... We have won millions of more votes than Senator close and millions and millions more votes than Kasich." - Trump after NY win, adding, "It's really nice to win the delegates and the vote."

Hillary is currently leading the Democratic primaries.

New York has been called for Donald Trump by the AP, CNN.

Although New York polling stations are still open, Sen. Cruz has, without saying as much, lost hope in winning the primary where he has ranked third consistently. Instead, he campaigned in Pennsylvania and Maryland on Tuesday.

With less than an hour until polls close, people are already anticipating the results.

19 April 2016

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman's office has reported receiving 562 complaints by phone from 6:00 am to 3:50 pm and 140 complaints by email, a spokesperson told The Democrat and Chronicle.

"This is by far the largest volume of complaints we have received for an election since Attorney General Schneiderman took office in 2011," spokesman Nick Benson said.

So far, the high volume of complaints has come from people who registered to vote but were told they were not. The second largest complaint came from those who registered to vote but were told they had registered for the opposite party than intended.

With several more hours to go until New York polling stations close, reports of problems with registration and voting continue to roll in.

Speaking to RT in Harlem, these canvassers explained how they were going to visit an apartment block nearby to encourage the 125 potential voters to make sure they get to a polling station.

Independent voters who wish to vote in the New York primaries may be out of luck. A federal judge denied a request for a temporary restraining order that could have opened the primaries to all voters, not just Democrats and Republicans.

This ruling means that 3.2 million voters in New York will not be able to participate in today's primary election, according to ThinkProgress.

More issues emerging for some voters across New York unable to vote after being told they weren’t registered to vote.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has already ordered an investigation into the purge of the Democratic voter roll.

This Bernie Sanders supporter was spotted photobombing Bill Clinton on Tuesday, but not everyone was amused.

Republican Peter King, who originally endorsed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, has said he would kill himself if Ted Cruz won the nomination, instead voting for John Kasich.

“I hate Ted Cruz, and I think I’ll take cyanide if he ever got the nomination,” the New York congressman told MSNBC’s "Morning Joe."

"I think you’re going to see Donald Trump scoring a big victory tonight," added King.

In Greenpoint, Brooklyn early morning voters had to wait for two hours for the polling station to open, while voters at the Atlantic Terminal site in Brooklyn say they had to wait until 7:30am to vote.

Voters in some Brooklyn and Queens polling stations reportedly encountered broken machines and belated polling on Tuesday morning.

New York Daily News reports that all three voting machines in P.S. 52 in Springfield Gardens were broken when voters arrived at 6am. Instead, voters had to place their ballots in a slot and they were told they would be processed through a machine later.

“It’s a recipe for disaster,” one voter told the news site.

A Clinton supporter canvassing in Spanish Harlem told RT’s Rebecca Myles: “Hillary is going to continue to do the right thing that Obama started.”

The same man said it would be "stupid" for someone like Trump to be voted in.

A supporter of Bernie Sanders said he couldn't vote for Clinton, however, as "she has too much baggage".

The voter said he voted for Sanders because "he's the only candidate whose trying to speak to some of the issues important to me and to the country as a whole."

There was a picture of the ballot for the Republican presidential candidates earlier and now has been posted online, also in English, Spanish and Chinese. The person posting the image doesn’t appear to be too keen on their options saying “they both suck”.

“A disaster awaits down both roads,” the post reads.

Update: Behind the scenes, it’s a very busy day for staff and volunteers who are working phone banks to encourage people to vote for their respective candidate.

Polling stations are open until 9pm EST and some people are using their lunch break to go and vote.

After voting for his father in midtown, Donald Trump Jr says he has “learned to never doubt" his father's abilities.

If spending on advertising through TV and radio were to dictate the winner for the Democrats, Sanders would win having spent over twice as much Clinton. 

Speaking on RT's ‘News with Ed’ on Monday night, Dan Cantor, national director for the Working Families Party, and New York Councilman Jumaane Williams discussed the fight for votes between Sanders and Clinton and who they think Democratic voters will back in New York.

One person who is evidently not so keen on Donald Trump’s candidacy has aired their frustration with the Republican presidential hopeful by urging people to deposit their ballots for him in a rather unconventional “polling station”.

Children of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have tweeted to wish their respective parents luck in today’s primary. Eric Trump is unable to vote today as both he and his sister Ivanka failed to register in time.

A picture of the ballot paper being used for the Republican presidential primary has surfaced online. It shows the names of the candidates as well as instructions in English, Spanish and Chinese.

This Democrat voter in NYC’s Chinatown tells RT’s Rebecca Myles that he voted for Bernie Sanders because of his “topics on free education” and views on “taxing Wall Street”.

The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, has cast his ballot. 

De Blasio has been campaigning for Hillary Clinton. 

Bernie Sanders has criticized New York's closed primary, The New York Times reports. 

“Today, three million people in the state of New York who are Independents have lost their right to vote in the Democratic and Republican primaries,” he said. “That’s wrong. You’re paying for this election. It’s administered by the state. You have a right to vote. That’s a very unfortunate thing which I hope will change.”

While Trump and Clinton - both New York residents - hang around the state all day, the other candidates are continuing their campaigns elsewhere. 

Republican candidates Ted Cruz and John Kasich are in Pennsylvania ahead of the state's primary next week. Later on Tuesday, Kasich will travel to Annapolis, Maryland, where he will hold a town hall style event.

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders is also in Pennsylvania, hosting rallies in Erie and at Penn State University.

RT's Rebecca Myles is reporting live from Chinatown, New York City.

"We've had a lot of people since this morning," a polling station worker told Myles. 

She added, however, that the station is "short on help," particularly because the community's elderly population needs extra assistance with translating.

Donald Trump told reporters that "it was a great honor" to vote for himself in the New York primary.

Both Clinton and Trump have strong ties to New York. Trump, a Queens native, has emphasized his relationship with the city, in which many buildings bear his name. 

‘‘We love this city,’’ Trump told reporters on Monday. ‘‘You look at the other folks that are running — they couldn’t care less about New York.’’

Meanwhile, Clinton served as a US Senator for the state of New York from 2001 to 2009.

Some voters in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens were met with broken machines and late openings of polling stations on Tuesday morning, New York Daily News reported. 

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton is ahead of opponent Bernie Sanders by about 12 points in the polls, according to Real Clear Politics' polling average. She has a 99 percent chance of winning the primary.

For the Republicans, Trump is ahead by 30 percentage points and also has a 99 percent chance of winning the primary. 

A hearing for an emergency lawsuit filed by Election Justice USA will take place today.

The lawsuit was filed on the eve of the New York primary, after it emerged that more than 63,000 registered Democrats were dropped from the polls since last autumn. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has also urged the New York City Board of Elections to investigate the situation. 

RT's Rebecca Myles reports:

Donald Trump has shown up in Midtown, Manhattan, to cast his ballot. 

RT's Rebecca Myles reports:

New York residents Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton are the only two candidates hanging around the state all day on Tuesday. Both will hold election night parties – Trump's will be at the Trump Tower and Clinton's will be at the Sheraton New York.  

Republican candidate Donald Trump is heading into the primary with a significant lead in the polls.

His rivals, Ted Cruz and John Kasich, are aiming to keep his share of the vote below 50 percent, in order to limit the number of delegates he can accrue. 

Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders was spotted walking around Times Square in New York City as the New York primary got underway. 

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, told CNN this morning: "I'm Rudy Giuliani, I mean a lot in New York politics, I endorse Donald Trump, but I'm not part of the campaign."

Hillary and Bill Clinton both cast their votes at Douglas G. Grafflin Elementary School in Chappaqua, New York. 

A crowd was pictured waiting for Hillary Clinton to arrive at her polling place in Chappaqua, New York, on Tuesday morning. 

Hillary Clinton was photographed greeting voters and workers at her polling place in Chappaqua, New York, this morning. 

The Brooklyn polling station which was late to open is now operating, but the delay reportedly caused long lines. 

Economics writer Ben Casselman tweeted a photo of a Brooklyn polling place. He said the station wasn't ready to operate, even though it was supposed to open two hours prior.

The mayor of New York City, Bill de Blasio, says the primary won't actually be a tight contest, stating that Hillary Clinton will emerge victorious. 

“All I'm gonna say is, a solid margin. I don’t think it’s gonna be close,” he told CNN. 

“We've learned this season not to listen too much to pollsters there’s been some real surprising results, but the consistency of these polls has been striking,” he said, according to Politico. “And the response we're getting on the ground for Hillary has been overwhelming.”

De Blasio has been campaigning for Clinton.

Polling stations in New York City opened for the primary at 6am local time, along with the counties of Erie, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Orange, Rockland, and Putnam. They will close at 9pm. 

All other counties in New York will open at noon and close at 9pm EST.