Guide to Tuesday’s Primary Election: Who’s on your ballot and where to vote
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Tuesday is Primary Election Day in New York State. Voters registered with a political party will decide who will be on the ballot in the November general election.
This year, all eyes are on the race for mayor of Rochester, Rochester City Council, Monroe County’s third legislative district, Ontario County District Attorney, and more. There are also plenty of local town races to follow.
Primary Day comes after nine days of early voting. In total, over 4,100 voted early in Monroe County. You can see a breakdown of early voting for each county location at the bottom of this story. Here’s your guide to who’s eligible to vote and which candidates are on the ballot in Monroe County and surrounding counties.
Who is eligible to vote?
To vote in the primary, you must be registered with a political party. That’s different from the general election on Tuesday, Nov. 4, where anyone who is registered to vote can vote. You can learn about registering to vote or registering for a party on your county’s Board of Elections website. Here are the links:
Your registration must be mailed or delivered to the Board of Elections no later than 10 days before the election. To register, you must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Be a U.S. citizen
- Be a resident of Monroe County for at least 30 days before the election
- Must not claim the right to vote elsewhere
How to find your polling location
You can check your polling location with this online tool from the New York State Board of Elections. Keep in mind that your polling location may change from year to year.
How do Monroe County’s new voting machines work?
Monroe County has introduced a new electronic voting system, making it the only county in the state using this technology. Voters will receive a blank white card with a barcode at check-in, which identifies their voting district. After inserting the card into the machine, voters can choose their preferred language and make selections.
Write-in candidates are still an option. Voters can change their selections before finalizing their ballot. The process is designed to be quick, with an expected time of 90 seconds. You can read more here.
Monroe County races
City of Rochester: For residents of the City of Rochester, all eyes will be on the race for mayor, city council, and RCSD school commissioner. Democrats registered in the City of Rochester can vote for one of these three mayoral candidates.
- Malik Evans, incumbent mayor
- Shashi Ranjan Sinha, business owner
- Mary Lupien, city council member in the East District
Louis Sabo is the only candidate running for the Conservative Party. News10NBC spoke with the mayoral candidates on Rochester in Focus about their stances. You can see their responses here:
Voters in the city registered as Democrats can vote for members of Rochester City Council at large. Voters can select up to five. Here is the candidate list:
- Miguel Melendez, Jr. (Democrat, incumbent president)
- Stanley Martin (Democrat and Working Families, incumbent)
- Mitch Gruber (Democrat, incumbent)
- Victor Sanchez (Democrat and Working Families)
- Clifford Florence (Democrat)
- Kevin Stewart (Democrat and Working Families)
- Kelly Cheatle (Democrat and Working Families)
- Luis Aponte (Democrat)
- Ann Lewis (Democrat)
- Lashunda Leslie-Smith (Democrat)
- Josie McClary (Democrat)
- Chiara “Kee Kee” Smith (Democrat and Working Families)
- Miquel Powell (Democrat)
- Tonya Noel Stevens (Democrat)
- Niner Davis (Democrat)
- Marcus Williams (Conservative)
The primary for RCSD school commissioner is open to those registered as Democrats. Voters can select up to three. Here is the list:
- Kareem McCullough (Democrat and Working Families)
- Vince Felder (Democrat)
- Camille Simmons (Democrat and Working Families)
- Heather Feinman (Democrat)
Monroe County Legislature: The primary will decide who’s on the ballot in November for two Monroe County Legislature districts. In parts of Chili, voters will select the candidates for the third county legislative district. For the Democratic and Working Families ticket, Marvin Stepherson is running unopposed. For registered Republicans, they’ll have a choice between Jack Merritt and Scott Hand. Merrit is also endorsed by the Conservative Party.
In parts of Henrietta, Riga, and Wheatland, voters will select the candidates for the 12th county legislature district, but all candidates are unopposed in the primary. Nazish Jeffery is set to become the Democratic candidate, Leslie Schildt is set to become to Republican candidate, and Deborah Campanella is set to become the Conservative candidate.
Town races in Monroe County: Here is the complete list of candidates running in the Monroe County primary for each town and the city:
Wayne County races
In Wayne County, there are three town-level races. In the Town of Ontario, voters will select two Republican nominees for town council. In the Town of Savannah, voters will select the Republican nominee for the Superintendent of Highways. In the Village of Sodus Point, voters will select the Republican nominee for trustee. You can learn more about the races here.
Ontario County races
The primary in Ontario County will decide who will be the Republican nominee for district attorney. Jason MacBride is challenging incumbent District Attorney James Ritts.
That’s the only county-wide race. There are also Republican Primary races in the towns of Farmington, Gorham, Naples, Phelps, and Richmond. You can see a sample ballot here.
Livingston County races
In Livingston County, the only race listed on the Board of Elections’ website is for County Republican Committee for district two of Mount Morris. Voters can select two candidates from a choice of: Dan Santini, Stephanie Gehrig, Timothy Bryant, and Donna Jo Land. You can see a sample ballot here.
Orleans County races
In Orleans County, there are three town-level races. In the Town of Barre, voters will select the Republican nominee for town supervisor and the nominees for town council. Voters will also select the town supervisor and town council nominees for the Town of Shelby. In the Town of Yates, voters will select the Republican candidates for town council. You can learn more on the Orleans County Board of Elections website.
Early voting turnout in Monroe County
The Monroe County Board of Elections posted a breakdown of how many people voted over the nine days of early voting between eight locations.