New York candidates left on hold as primary results trickle in

New York’s House candidates are still waiting for results two weeks after the state held its primaries as a crush of mail-in ballots start to be slowly counted in the undecided races.

Campaigns said they have been left in the dark as to how soon the New York State Board of Elections will finish sifting through an estimated record of more than 380,000 absentee ballots that have flooded in after the state pushed for mailed-in votes amidst the coronavirus pandemic.

New York City boroughs started counting their absentee ballots this week, but as of Wednesday afternoon, progress had been slow, leading to the prospect that the count could stretch for days or weeks.

That is leaving key races in New York’s battle for Congress undecided, including progressive Jamaal Bowman’s challenge against Rep. Eliot Engel (D). Bowman has already declared victory after leading 61 percent to 36 percent, but the final result will hinge on the outcome of 39,500 outstanding ballots being counted by the state and New York City officials, according to an Engel campaign spokesman.

“We have no inside knowledge on when it will all be done,” said Tom Watson, the Engel campaign’s communications director.

“Congressman Engel believes strongly that the Governor’s promise of a safe, large scale, vote by mail process must be followed to its conclusion, no matter the outcome. Looks like it might take some time,” he added.

Other primary states such as Utah have also taken days to finish counting votes amid an unprecedented surge in mail-in ballots, though none have stretched the wait as long as New York, which has a large population and, hence, a large number of Congressional races. Kentucky, which held its election the same day, completed its count soon after the primary. 

New York held its primary on June 23 but accepted ballots that arrived by June 30.

Among other candidates, Mondaire Jones and Ritchie Torres, both of whom ran progressive campaigns and would be the first openly gay Black congressmen, were leading in the state’s 17th and 15th districts to replace retiring lawmakers, though the races have yet to be called. 

Meanwhile, House Oversight and Reform Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D) and progressive Suraj Patel have seen little movement since election night results showed the incumbent with a narrow lead. 

“On Election Night, residents of the 12th District resoundingly voted for change. As we await results from the Board of Elections, our focus is on ensuring every vote is counted and every voice is heard,” added Cassie Moreno, a spokeswoman for the Patel campaign.

The New York City Board of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.