Primary election deadline email

NYC Elections: ensure your employees have everything they need to register by February 14

February 10, 2021 • Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes

2021 will be an important year for NYC and its recovery. Central to that is the nomination and election of the city’s next mayor and 35 (of the 51) members of the City Council, and other elected offices including borough presidents, district attorneys, et al.Throughout the year, Tech:NYC will provide resources and opportunities to ensure our community remains informed and engaged in local elections. The first step: registering.The deadline for registered voters to declare a party affiliation and be eligible to participate in the primaries is THIS Sunday, February 14.What to know:

  • New York has “closed” primaries, so registered voters cannot vote in the June primaries unless their registration includes a party affiliation; you can only vote for candidates in the party with which you are affiliated.

  • There are far more registered Democrats than Republicans in NYC, so all citywide races and almost all City Council seats are all but decided in the primary. There are over 5.6 million registered voters in NYC, but one million have declared no party affiliation and therefore are not eligible to vote in the primaries.

  • February 14 is the last day when registered voters may declare or change party affiliation before the June 22 primary. Confirm or update your status online here.

  • If you are a new voter and registering for the first time, you must do so by May 28 to participate in the June 22 primary. Register online here.

What’s new:

  • For the first time, NYC elections will be conducted via ranked-choice voting. Voters will be able to vote for up to five candidates for any office, ranking them in order of preference. Candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and their votes are assigned to the second choice on those ballots, until one candidate has more than 50 percent of all votes cast and is declared the winner.

  • Early voting is also expected to be more widespread, with many polling sites open for a 10-day period ahead of election day.

  • Depending on COVID-19 measures, mail-in and absentee voting measures may also be in place.

How you can help:

  • Send a company-wide email to all employees who are NYC residents (sample language provided below) notifying them of the February 14 deadline and the importance of declaring an affiliation and voting.

  • Remind employees of company policies that encourage voter participation — paid time to get to the polls, etc. And if you don’t have those policies, we’d recommend implementing them!

  • Invite employees to sign up to receive the Tech:NYC newsletter for additional resources and invitations to relevant events, including upcoming ones with candidates.

Key dates:

 February 14

  Last day to declare/change party affiliation for June 22 primary 

 May 28

  Voter registration deadline for June 22 primary 

 June 22

  NYC primary election day 

 October 8

  Voter registration deadline for November 2 general election 

 November 2

  General election 

Stay tuned for further resources from Tech:NYC, including voter guides and invitations to events. In the meantime, if your company is working on any initiatives or programs to support voter and civic engagement among employees, we’d love to hear how we can support your efforts. Get in touch here.

Sample email language to employees:

All,

While much of the news recently has been focused on the new administration in Washington DC, I wanted to draw your attention to other upcoming key elections here in NYC — the races for mayor, comptroller, district attorneys, and the majority of the City Council.2021 will be a crucial year for the city’s recovery and the elected officials we put in place to lead it. To make sure you're prepared to participate in the primary elections coming up on June 22, we wanted to remind you of an important deadline: Sunday, February 14 is the last day when registered voters may declare or change their party affiliation before the primary.New York has “closed primaries,” so all registered voters must declare a party affiliation in order for your vote on June 22 to count. You can confirm or change your party affiliation here. (If you’re registering to vote for the first time in New York, you must do so by May 28 here.)Voting will look a bit different this year, with ranked choice voting and some expanded early voting options. Our company is coordinating with Tech:NYC, where we’re a member, to provide additional resources on these changes soon so you feel informed and prepared when Voting Day arrives. I’d encourage you to sign up to get their digest directly here.