Polls show tight race for New York governor as Early Voting continues
NEW YORK -- The latest polls show mixed messages in the New York governor's race.
One has Gov. Kathy Hochul well ahead of Congressman Lee Zeldin, but a second gives Zeldin the advantage.
It comes as Early Voting is well underway, and a state court has ruled that absentee ballots in New York will count. The challenge came from Republican and conservative party officials, but the courts say they waited too long, and changing the absentee ballot rules now would be too disruptive less than a week away from Election Day.
Hochul was pushing voters to the polls Tuesday, ahead of Election Day.
"You march to the polls -- Early Voting and on Election Day. Take your family and friends," she said.
A new Emerson College survey shows Hochul leading with 52%, compared to Zeldin with 44%, with a margin of error of plus or minus three. Another recent poll shows Zeldin barely leading with 48.4%, compared to Hochul's 47.6%.
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Hochul continues to campaign hard this week, posing with a baby in the Bronx and meeting with community leaders. She spoke about her record on public safety and getting guns off the street, compared to what she calls Zeldin's tactic of keeping New Yorkers scared.
"He's working to keep people scared, whereas I and other Democrats are working to keep people safe," she said. "As the polls get down to the end here, I believe you'll start to see a separation between us as people realize that rhetoric is not going to get them safer."
"You're seeing grand larcenies skyrocket, you're seeing felony assaults skyrocket," Zeldin said Tuesday.
Also Tuesday, a New York appeals court decided to uphold a state law allowing absentee ballots to be reviewed before Election Day, saying it would be "extremely disruptive" to change the rules with absentee voting already underway.
Roughly half a million absentee ballots were sent out across New York, and 188,000 have been returned so far, according to the state Board of Elections.
The deadline to postmark an absentee ballot of drop it off at a poll site is Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 8. The last day the Board of Elections can receive the ballot is Tuesday Nov. 15.
It's been four days since the start of Early Voting, and roughly 170,000 New York City residents have cast their vote for governor so far.
