Voters Head To The Polls In New York For Primary Day
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- It's Primary Day in New York.
More than 20 Assembly seats and four Senate seats are up for grabs. There is also an unusual number of contests without incumbents because more than 20 of 150 Assembly members and four of 62 senators have retired or resigned this term.
WCBS 880's Peter Haskell reports
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Three upstate Republican senators, who sided last year with Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo in approving gay marriage, have been targeted by the state's Conservative Party.
Some experts said the results of those three races are being watched nationally, to see whether gay marriage will have a big impact on elections in November.
"Politicians aren't necessarily known for their robust spines," Baruch College public affairs professor Douglas Muzzio told WCBS 880's Peter Haskell.
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The primary usually held on Tuesdays was moved to Thursday in observance of the Sept. 11 anniversary of the terrorist attacks.
In New York City and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Erie, polling places opened at 6 a.m. In all other counties, they open at noon. All the polls close at 9 p.m.
Turnout is expected to be low.
"The turnout is going to be extraordinarily low. It's one of those they gave an election and nobody came," Muzzio told Haskell.
For more information or to find a polling place, visit www.elections.ny.gov.
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