2016 New York Democratic presidential primary
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The2016 New York Democratic presidential primarywas held on April 19 in the U.S. state ofNew Yorkas one of theDemocratic Party's primariesahead of the2016 presidential election.Hillary Clinton, who had previously represented New York in theUnited States Senatefrom 2001 to 2009, won a comfortable majority in both the popular vote and delegate count over Bernie Sanders, who was born inBrooklyn.
TheRepublican Partyalso held their ownNew York primaryon the same day. Apart from that, no other primaries were scheduled for that day by either party.
Campaign[edit]
The week before the primary, Sanders drew large crowds to campaign events in New York City: 28,000 heard Sanders speak in Brooklyn the weekend before the primary and 27,000 heard him speak inManhattanthe week before.[2]Clinton drew "appreciative crowds of respectable size" but did not approach the attendance of Sanders events.[2]
In early April, ahead of the primary, former PresidentBill Clintonvisitedwestern New Yorktwice for campaign events, speaking at an event inDepew(attended by almost a thousand people) and addressing a room of activists and volunteers at Clinton'sBuffalocampaign office.[3]
In total, the Sanders campaign spent about $2 million more than the Clinton campaign on television ads in New York.[4]In terms of campaign-expenditures per vote, Sanders' campaign spent about $9.03 per vote, while Clinton's campaign spent about $3.62 per vote.[5]
April 2016 presidential debate[edit]
A ninth debate was held on April 14, 2016 in Brooklyn, New York at the Duggal Greenhouse inBrooklyn Navy Yard.The debate was aired on CNN andNY1.[6]Wolf Blitzer of CNN served as moderator.[7]
Election Day irregularities[edit]
TheNew York Timesreported the day after the primary:
The Democratic vote was marred by major irregularities at polling places acrossBrooklyn.Thecity comptroller'soffice announced that theBoard of Electionshad confirmed that more than 200,000 Democratic voters in Brooklyn were dropped between November and this month, while about 63,000 were added – a net loss that was not explained. MayorBill de Blasiodescribed 'the purging of entire buildings and blocks of voters,' while the comptroller,Scott Stringer,said his office would audit the Board of Elections.[4]
The Brooklyn voter purge disproportionately affected Hispanic voters, and mostly voters between the ages of 30 and 80, and happened at similar rates in election districts where Clinton won and where Sanders won.[8]Although 121,056 people voted with provisional ballots in New York City, the board threw out nearly 91,000 "either because their names were taken off the rolls or because their party affiliation had been dropped or switched to a different party without their knowing."[9]
In November 2016, several groups sued the New York City Board of Elections over the voter roll purge. Initial parties to the lawsuit included "Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Latino Justice/PRLDEF and Dechert LLP on behalf of Common Cause New York and several individual plaintiffs. In early 2017, both the Justice Department and New York State Attorney General's office made motions to join the lawsuit."[10]In October 2017 WNYC reported that, pending court approval to the consent decree, that the New York State Board of Elections agreed to a settlement with parties to the lawsuit against them, admitting to illegally purging over 200,000 eligible voters from New York City voter rolls.
As a part of the settlement, the Board agreed to a series of remedial measures that will be in place at least through the next presidential election, November 2020 – pending court approval. The deal restores the rights of improperly purged voters and establishes a comprehensive plan to prevent illegal voter purges in future elections.[10]
Opinion polling[edit]
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Polls in 2015
Polls in 2013
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Results[edit]
| New York Democratic primary, April 19, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Hillary Clinton | 1,133,980 | 57.54% | 139 | 41 | 180 |
| Bernie Sanders | 820,056 | 41.62% | 108 | 0 | 108 |
| Void | 11,306 | 0.57% | |||
| Blank votes | 5,358 | 0.27% | |||
| Uncommitted | — | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Total | 1,970,900 | 100% | 247 | 44 | 291 |
| Source:Green Papers,New York State Board of Elections | |||||
Results by county[edit]
| County[27] | Clinton | % | Sanders | % | BVS | Totals | Turnout | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 19,914 | 47.74% | 21,798 | 52.26%[28] | 354 | 42,066 | 47.47% | -4.48% |
| Allegany | 847 | 40.62% | 1,209 | 57.99% | 29 | 2,085 | 35.53% | -17.36% |
| Bronx | 105,719 | 68.76% | 46,189 | 30.04% | 1,834 | 153,742 | 31.31% | 38.72% |
| Broome | 7,641 | 43.11% | 9,951 | 56.15% | 131 | 17,723 | 43.40% | -13.03% |
| Cattaraugus | 1,844 | 42.28% | 2,481 | 56.89% | 36 | 4,361 | 29.93% | -14.61% |
| Cayuga | 2,592 | 47.65% | 2,805 | 51.56% | 43 | 5,440 | 36.89% | -3.92% |
| Chautauqua | 3,865 | 46.09% | 4,431 | 52.84% | 90 | 8,386 | 32.68% | -6.75% |
| Chemung | 2,740 | 49.43% | 2,752 | 49.65% | 51 | 5,543 | 35.91% | -0.22% |
| Chenango | 1,062 | 39.23% | 1,613 | 59.59% | 32 | 2,707 | 37.60% | -20.35% |
| Clinton | 1,774 | 26.76% | 4,797 | 72.35% | 59 | 6,630 | 39.37% | -45.60% |
| Columbia | 3,039 | 45.14% | 3,660 | 54.37% | 33 | 6,732 | 51.64% | -9.22% |
| Cortland | 1,515 | 41.90% | 2,037 | 56.33% | 64 | 3,616 | 42.80% | -14.44% |
| Delaware | 1,172 | 38.96% | 1,813 | 60.27% | 23 | 3,008 | 41.70% | -21.31% |
| Dutchess | 11,701 | 48.37% | 12,395 | 51.23% | 97 | 24,193 | 41.70% | -2.87% |
| Erie | 54,279 | 50.40% | 52,473 | 48.72% | 955 | 107,707 | 38.91% | 1.68% |
| Essex | 838 | 27.90% | 2,145 | 71.40% | 21 | 3,004 | 47.40% | -43.51% |
| Franklin | 1,076 | 29.74% | 2,512 | 69.43% | 30 | 3,618 | 37.59% | -39.69% |
| Fulton | 1,010 | 40.16% | 1,475 | 58.65% | 30 | 2,515 | 32.80% | -18.49% |
| Genesee | 1,393 | 45.66% | 1,622 | 53.16% | 36 | 3,051 | 33.66% | -7.51% |
| Greene | 1,195 | 42.82% | 1,566 | 56.11% | 30 | 2,791 | 40.29% | -13.29% |
| Hamilton | 141 | 35.97% | 245 | 62.50% | 6 | 392 | 44.70% | -26.53% |
| Herkimer | 1,507 | 44.01% | 1,873 | 54.70% | 44 | 3,424 | 34.22% | -10.69% |
| Jefferson | 2,579 | 48.80% | 2,656 | 50.26% | 50 | 5,285 | 34.96% | -1.46% |
| Kings (Brooklyn) | 183,662 | 59.07% | 123,872 | 39.84% | 3,372 | 310,906 | 36.42% | 19.23% |
| Lewis | 492 | 40.53% | 703 | 57.91% | 19 | 1,214 | 28.88% | -17.38% |
| Livingston | 1,685 | 39.86% | 2,516 | 59.52% | 26 | 4,227 | 42.23% | -19.66% |
| Madison | 2,039 | 44.12% | 2,528 | 54.71% | 54 | 4,621 | 41.82% | -10.58% |
| Monroe | 39,310 | 51.60% | 36,490 | 47.90% | 380 | 76,180 | 43.85% | 3.70% |
| Montgomery | 1,298 | 42.31% | 1,732 | 56.45% | 38 | 3,068 | 33.64% | -14.15% |
| Nassau | 74,870 | 62.14% | 44,731 | 37.13% | 884 | 120,485 | 32.59% | 25.01% |
| New York (Manhattan) | 190,806 | 65.42% | 98,194 | 33.67% | 2,656 | 291,656 | 47.20% | 31.75% |
| Niagara | 8,202 | 46.48% | 9,294 | 52.67% | 149 | 17,645 | 34.09% | -6.19% |
| Oneida | 6,586 | 45.21% | 7,739 | 53.12% | 243 | 14,568 | 33.81% | -7.91% |
| Onondaga | 21,786 | 52.90% | 19,186 | 46.59% | 212 | 41,184 | 41.40% | 6.31% |
| Ontario | 4,040 | 47.31% | 4,445 | 52.05% | 55 | 8,540 | 43.88% | -4.74% |
| Orange | 12,855 | 51.14% | 12,077 | 48.04% | 206 | 25,138 | 33.12% | 3.09% |
| Orleans | 725 | 43.36% | 923 | 55.20% | 24 | 1,672 | 31.43% | -11.84% |
| Oswego | 2,631 | 43.98% | 3,273 | 54.71% | 78 | 5,982 | 35.11% | -10.73% |
| Otsego | 1,995 | 40.72% | 2,868 | 58.54% | 36 | 4,899 | 47.17% | -17.82% |
| Putnam | 3,718 | 49.00% | 3,832 | 50.50% | 38 | 7,588 | 42.73% | -1.50% |
| Queens | 133,210 | 61.32% | 81,782 | 37.64% | 2,272 | 217,244 | 32.15% | 23.68% |
| Rensselaer | 5,068 | 41.76% | 7,003 | 57.70% | 66 | 12,137 | 43.14% | -15.94% |
| Richmond (Staten Island) | 17,612 | 52.40% | 15,471 | 46.03% | 530 | 33,613 | 28.17% | 6.37% |
| Rockland | 17,868 | 59.78% | 11,790 | 39.44% | 233 | 29,891 | 35.11% | 20.33% |
| St. Lawrence | 3,142 | 44.04% | 4,425 | 57.87% | 53 | 7,646 | 35.72% | −16.78% |
| Saratoga | 7,672 | 44.04% | 9,694 | 55.65% | 104 | 17,419 | 45.81% | −11.61% |
| Schenectady | 6,526 | 47.05% | 7,241 | 52.20% | 15 | 13,871 | 40.12% | −5.15% |
| Schoharie | 706 | 36.45% | 1,216 | 62.78% | 8 | 1,937 | 40.93% | −26.33% |
| Schuyler | 548 | 38.27% | 876 | 61.17% | 12 | 1,432 | 44.27% | −22.91% |
| Seneca | 1,125 | 47.19% | 1,247 | 52.31% | 79 | 2,384 | 40.18% | −5.12% |
| Steuben | 2,149 | 41.86% | 2,926 | 56.99% | 59 | 5,134 | 36.61% | −15.13% |
| Suffolk | 53,420 | 54.80% | 44,033 | 45.14% | 25 | 97,478 | 32.07% | 9.63% |
| Sullivan | 2,369 | 44.12% | 2,958 | 55.09% | 42 | 5,369 | 31.84% | −10.97% |
| Tioga | 1,318 | 40.12% | 1,936 | 58.93% | 31 | 3,285 | 41.14% | -18.81% |
| Tompkins | 6,138 | 37.60% | 10,130 | 62.06% | 56 | 16,324 | 63.40% | -24.45% |
| Ulster | 7,642 | 37.90% | 12,435 | 61.68% | 84 | 20,161 | 50.70% | -23.77% |
| Warren | 1,868 | 39.21% | 2,871 | 60.26% | 25 | 4,764 | 46.75% | -21.05% |
| Washington | 1,292 | 36.08% | 2,274 | 63.50% | 15 | 3,581 | 41.49% | -27.42% |
| Wayne | 1,988 | 44.56% | 2,436 | 54.61% | 37 | 4,461 | 34.17% | -10.04% |
| Westchester | 74,900 | 66.87% | 36,753 | 32.81% | 354 | 112,007 | 42.45% | 34.06% |
| Wyoming | 639 | 39.89% | 958 | 59.80% | 5 | 1,602 | 30.12% | -19.91% |
| Yates | 637 | 46.46% | 720 | 52.52% | 14 | 1,371 | 42.98% | -6.05% |
| Total | 1,133,980 | 57.54% | 820,256 | 41.62% | 16,667 | 1,970,703 | 37.41% | 15.93% |
Note: New York State is a closed primary state, meaning the turnout is based on active enrolled democrats by county on April 1, 2016. Blank, void, and scattering votes (BVS) are only for blank and void, since there was not other candidate on the ballot or the ability to write-in.
New York City results[edit]
| 2016 Democratic primary in New York City | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total |
| Hillary Clinton | 190,806 | 105,719 | 183,662 | 133,210 | 17,612 | 631,009 |
| 64.42% | 68.76% | 59.07% | 61.32% | 52.40% | 62.65% | |
| Bernie Sanders | 98,194 | 46,189 | 123,872 | 81,762 | 15,471 | 365,488 |
| 33.67% | 30.04% | 39.84% | 37.64% | 46.03% | 36.29% | |
| Turnout | 47.20% | 31.31% | 36.42% | 32.15% | 28.17% | |
| Margin of Victory | 30.75% | 38.74% | 19.23% | 23.68% | 6.37% | 26.36% |
Analysis[edit]
Clinton won a 16-point victory in her home state.Exit pollsshowed that Sanders wonamong voters age 18–29in the Empire State, capturing 65% of this demographic, while Clinton won every other age group, performing better witholder groups(53% of voters ages 30–44, 63% of voters aged 45–54, and 73% of voters aged 65 and over).[29]Clinton tied men with Sanders 50-50, but won a 63–37 landslide among women (both married and unmarried). The candidates split thewhitevote 50–50, but Clinton won theAfrican Americanvote 75–25 and theHispanic/Latinovote 64–36. Clinton swept all income levels/socioeconomic statuses and educational attainment levels in her home state.
In terms of political ideology, Clinton won 62–38 amongDemocratswhile Sanders won 72–28 amongIndependents,who were 14% of the electorate. Clinton won both liberals and moderate/conservative voters. She won amongunionhouseholds 58-42, and won both married and unmarried voters. In terms of religious affiliation, Clinton wonProtestants65-35,Catholics62-38, and also won theJewishvote by a 2 to 1 margin after Sanders caused controversy by criticizingIsrael.[30]Sanders won agnostic/atheistvoters 57-43. While Clinton won voters who saidWall Streetdoes more to help the economy, Sanders won among those who said it hurts the economy.[31]
Clinton performed very well onLong Islandand in thefive boroughsof New York City, particularly inManhattan,Queensandthe Bronx;she also won handily inBrooklynandStaten Island.[4]Clinton ran up big margins in New York City neighborhoods likeHarlem,where the percentage of African American voters was highest. Sanders did better in rural, whiterupstate New Yorkcounties, with Clinton winningBuffalo,Syracuse,andRochesterwhile Sanders won inAlbany.[29][4]Sanders also performed well in theHudson Valley,with a high concentration of liberals and college students.[4]
Aftermath[edit]
After winning her home state convincingly, Clinton told supporters, "New Yorkers, you've always had my back and I've always tried to have yours [...] Today together we did it again and I am deeply, deeply grateful."[32]
Following his primary, a Manhattan attorney filed suit, seeking atemporary restraining orderto block certification of the presidential primary election byNew York City Board of Electionsand the state elections board based on his argument that New York'sclosed primarysystem violated thestate Constitution.This argument was rejected by theNew York Supreme Court(the statetrial court).[33]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^"New York State Board of Elections"(PDF).RetrievedAugust 25,2017.
- ^abPeter Nicholas,Five Reasons the New York Democratic Primary Felt Competitive,Wall Street Journal(April 20, 2016).
- ^Bill Clinton Rallies Hillary Backers in Final N.Y. Primary Push,Roll Call(April 18, 2016).
- ^abcdePatrick Healy & Maggie Haberman,Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Win Easily in New York Primary,New York Times(April 19, 2016).
- ^Michael Beckel,Sanders spent $9 per vote in New York. Trump? About 13 cents.,Center for Public Integrity(April 20, 2016).
- ^Stelter, Brian (April 4, 2016)."Clinton, Sanders to meet for Brooklyn debate".CNN.RetrievedApril 5,2016.
- ^Brian Stelter, Host (April 4, 2016)."Clinton, Sanders to meet for Brooklyn debate".CNN.
- ^John Keefe, Jenny Ye and Brigid Bergin (June 22, 2016)."The Brooklyn Voter Purge: By Age, Registration and Sanders Districts".WNYC News.RetrievedJune 2,2019.
- ^"Elections chief defends botched N.Y. primary election; Challenges loom | The Villager Newspaper".October 16, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on May 13, 2016.RetrievedMay 13,2016.
- ^abCity Board of Elections Admits It Broke the Law, Accepts Reforms,retrievedOctober 26,2017
- ^"Clinton and Trump Poised to Regain Momentum in the Empire State; NY Looks Safe For Dems In General"(PDF).RetrievedApril 18,2016.
- ^"Poll: Clinton keeps New York edge, leads Sanders in California".RetrievedApril 17,2016.
- ^"Clinton Protects Big Lead Over Sanders in NY: NBC4/WSJ/Marist Poll".RetrievedApril 14,2016.
- ^"Black Votes Matter for Clinton in New York, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Trump Sweeps All Groups Against Cruz or Kasich"(PDF).RetrievedApril 12,2016.
- ^"New York Polling Results".April 17, 2016.
- ^"Bernie Narrows Gap; Hillary Still Leads By 10 Points; Trump Maintains Huge Lead, Kasich 2nd, Cruz 3rd"(PDF).RetrievedApril 13,2016.
- ^"New York: Clinton Leads by 12"(PDF).RetrievedApril 11,2016.
- ^"New York Hates Ted Cruz; Trump, Clinton Lead Big"(PDF).RetrievedApril 15,2016.
- ^"NBC News/WSJ/Marist Poll April 2016 New York Questionnaire"(PDF).RetrievedApril 11,2016.
- ^"NY1/Baruch College Poll: Trump Leads Rivals by 43 Percentage Points".RetrievedApril 15,2016.
- ^"Clinton and Trump Lose Ground in NY, but Still in Control; Voters Weigh in on Open-Conventions".RetrievedApril 8,2016.
- ^"Fox News Poll: Trump, Clinton rule Empire State".RetrievedApril 10,2016.
- ^"CBS News 2016 Battleground TrackerNew York".RetrievedApril 3,2016.
- ^"Clinton, Trump Have Big Leads in New York Primaries, Quinnipiac Poll Finds; Adopted Daughter Thumps Native Son, Edges Kasich"(PDF).RetrievedMarch 31,2016.
- ^"Emerson Poll: Trump, Clinton Trouncing Their Rivals in New York; In General Election, Hillary and Bernie Lead The Donald"(PDF).
- ^"Quinnipiac NY poll"(PDF).quinnipiac.edu.RetrievedJuly 9,2015.
- ^"2016 Election Center – Presidential Primaries and Caucuses".CNN.RetrievedJune 4,2018.
- ^"Election results"(PDF).app.albanycounty.com.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on February 14, 2017.RetrievedFebruary 3,2023.
- ^abNew York Exit Polls(conducted by Edison Research of Somerville, New Jersey, for theNational Election Poolwhich consists of ABC News, The Associated Press, CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NBC News) (April 19, 2016).
- ^"Hillary Clinton takes Jewish vote in New York primaries – U.S. Election 2016".Haaretz.RetrievedOctober 10,2016.
- ^"2016 Election Center".CNN.RetrievedOctober 10,2016.
- ^"US election 2016: Trump and Clinton win New York primaries".BBC News.April 20, 2016.
- ^Barbara Ross,Judge rejects challenge to New York's 'closed primary' system,New York Daily News(May 2, 2016).