The New York City Council primary election is scheduled for June 27, and every single council seat is up for grabs.
Since redistricting has redrawn some district lines dramatically, you may need a refresher. So — what district are you in, who’s running to represent you, and when and where can you vote? We’ll break it all down for Brooklyn voters.
WHAT IS A PRIMARY?
In a primary election, candidates from each political party run against each other for the opportunity to be selected as their party’s nominee in the general election — scheduled for Nov. 7.
Not every district has a contested election, though — some districts only have one interested Republican or Democrat, and those races will not be listed on the ballot, since there is no choice to be made. In some neighborhoods, the incumbent council member is running unopposed.
WHAT IS RANKED-CHOICE VOTING?
Ranked-choice voting allows voters to choose more than one candidate in order of preference.
If no one candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the candidate with the least top-choice votes will be eliminated from the race. The people who ranked that candidate at the top of their list will have their votes transferred to their second choice, and so on until a winner is named.
Ranked-choice voting is supposed to make elections more inclusive, and, so far, has appeared to improve voter turnout and reduce the number of costly runoff elections.
WHAT IS REDISTRICTING?
Every ten years, political district lines are redrawn to reflect the most recent census data. Districts should, ideally, contain roughly the same number of voters and fairly represent different neighborhoods and racial and ethnic groups.
That means your council district may have changed since the last elections two years ago. Use the Board of Elections website to check your current district and see a sample ballot so you can familiarize yourself with unfamiliar candidates.
WHEN AND WHERE TO VOTE
Election day is scheduled for Tuesday, June 27 — but early voting starts this Saturday, June 17, and runs through Sunday, June 25. Polling places and hours of operation vary, and you can use the BOE’s “Find Your Poll Site” tool to locate early voting and election day polling places.
Polls are open at the following times:
- Saturday, June 17, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday, June 18, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m
- Monday, June 19, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Tuesday, June 20, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Wednesday, June 21, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Thursday, June 22, 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Friday, June 23, 8 a.m. – 4 p.m.
- Saturday, June 24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Sunday, June 25, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
- Election Day, Tuesday, June 2, 6 a.m. – 9 p.m.
WHO’S ON THE BALLOT?
CITY COUNCIL:
- District 33 – Greenpoint and southern Williamsburg
- Incumbent Council Member Lincoln Restler, a Democrat, is running unopposed. There is no Republican candidate in the race, and the contest will not appear on the ballot.
- District 34 – Bushwick and parts of Williamsburg and Ridgewood
- Incumbent Democrat Jennifer Gutiérrez is running for reelection against challenger Paperboy Prince, an artist and activist who has previously mounted unsuccessful campaigns for mayor and U.S. Congress. There are no Republicans on the ballot.
- District 35 – Prospect Heights, Fort Greene, Clinton Hill, parts of Crown Heights
- Incumbent Democrat Crystal Hudson is running unopposed, and the race will not appear on the ballot.
- District 36 – Bedford-Stuyvesant, parts of Crown Heights
- Democrat Chi Ossé, the incumbent, is running unopposed, and the race will not appear on the ballot.
- District 37 – Parts of Bushwick, East New York, Brownsville, and Cypress Hills
- Incumbent Sandy Nurse is running unopposed on the Democratic side, and Republican Isaiah Vega is vying for his party’s nomination. Since neither race is contested, it will not appear on the ballot this year.
- District 38 – Sunset Park and parts of Bensonhurst and Dyker Heights
- Both incumbent Democrat Alexa Avilés and Republican Paul Rodrígues are running uncontested, and the race will not appear on the ballot.
- District 39 – Carroll Gardens, Cobble Hill, Park Slope, Kensington, and Windsor Terrace
- Incumbent Democrat Shahana Hanif and Republican Arek Tomaszewski are both running unopposed, and the contest will not be on the ballot.
- District 40 – Flatbush and Prospect Lefferts-Gardens
- Rita Joseph, the Democratic incumbent, will not face challengers from either party, and the race will not appear on the ballot.
- District 41 – Parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville, and Weeksville
- Democratic incumbent Darlene Mealy, who held the seat from 2006-2017 and ran again in 2021, is facing Democratic challengers Reginald Bowman, Isis McItosh Green, and Joyce Shearin. No Republicans have joined the race.
- District 42 – Parts of East Flatbush, East New York, and Starrett City
- Longtime incumbent Charles Barron, a Democrat, is being challenged by Democrats Chris Banks and Jamilah Rose. There are no Republicans on the ticket.
- District 43 – Parts of Bensonhurst, Borough Park, and Sunset Park
- With redistricting, District 43 became the city’s first Asian-majority council district. Democratic incumbent Justin Brannan chose to run in neighboring District 47, leaving the field wide open for Democrats Stanley Ng, Wai-Yee Chan, and Susan Zhuang; plus Republicans Vito LaBella and Ying Tan.
- District 44 – Gravesend, Midwood, and parts of Borough Park
- Incumbent Democrat Kalman Yeger is unchallenged from the left, but is also contesting the Republican primary, where he’ll face off against Heshy Tischler. Yeger will also appear on the ballot as a Democrat in the November general election.
- District 45 – Flatlands, parts of East Flatbush
- Incumbent Democrat Farah Louis is running unopposed, with no Republicans in the race, and the primary will not appear on the ballot this year.
- District 46 – Canarsie, Marine Park, and Mill Basin
- No Democrats are challenging incumbent Mercedes Narcisse, and one Republican candidate, Michael Moran, has thrown his hat in the ring. Since neither candidate has a challenger, the race will not appear on the ballot.
- District 47 – Coney Island, Bath Beach, and parts of Bay Ridge
- The District 47 race is one of the most hotly-contested council contests of the year. After redistricting, Democrat Justin Brannan, who previously served in District 43, chose to run in District 47. Ari Kagan, the incumbent, who was elected as a Democrat, chose to change political parties partway through his term — possibly in an attempt to face a primary faceoff against Brannan. Kagan faces challenges from Republicans Anna Belfiore-Delfaus and Avery Pereira, while Brannan is the only Democrat on the ticket.
- District 48 – Brighton Beach, Homecrest, Manhattan Beach, and Sheepshead Bay
- Incumbent Republican Inna Vernikov is being challenged by Igor Kazatsker, with no Democrats in the fray until November.
KINGS COUNTY COURT:
Two law professionals — Turquoise Haskin and Linda Wilson, both Democrats — are running in a primary election to take a seat on the bench at Kings County Civil Court.
Meanwhile, acting-Surrogate Court Judge Bernard Graham is running unopposed to officially fill the spot on the Surrogate Court that was vacated by Judge Harriet Thompson amid a flurry of scandals.
Corrections, 6/15/2023, 10:17 a.m.: This story previously stated that Kalman Yeger is registered as a Republican. Yeger is a Democrat, but is also contesting the Republican primary in District 44. The story also incorrectly identified Turquoise Haskin and Linda Wilson as judges — though both are running for a judgeship, neither currently serve as a judge. We regret the errors.
