New Yorkers Can Now Vote Absentee in June 23 Primaries

New Yorkers Can Now Vote Absentee in the June Primaries Because of Coronavirus

By Spectrum News Staff New York State

UPDATED 6:00 AM ET Apr. 09, 2020 PUBLISHED 11:56 PM ET Apr. 08, 2020 PUBLISHED 11:56 PM EDT Apr. 08, 2020

Absentee voting for the state’s presidential and local primaries in June will be extended to all New Yorkers due to the coronavirus pandemic, to prevent voters from gathering in growds at the polls to cast their ballot.

Coming on the heels of Tuesday’s Wisconsin presidential primary that forced thousands of voters to line up at the polls, Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday announced he will issue an executive order to allow voters to cast ballots by absentee on June 23.

That is the date of New York’s presidential and state primaries, as well as a special election in Queens — although Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out of the presidential race Wednesday, making former Vice President Joe Biden the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee and rendering the remaining primaries ceremonial since all his major competitors have ended their White House bids.

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“I’ve seen lines of people on television voting in other states. This is totally nonsensical,” Cuomo said. “God bless them for having such diligence for their civic duty that they would go stand on a line to vote. People shouldn’t have to make that choice.”