Democratic primary race turnout under 30% in NY's largest cities
Democratic primary turnout in New York’s largest cities didn’t top 30% as record temperatures pushed some voters to sit out mayoral contests — including several where the winners will likely cruise to victory in November.
The lackluster turnout provided fresh evidence for people calling for changes to the state’s election laws — including a new structure that would open primaries to unaffiliated voters.
Roughly 29.8% of voters cast ballots in Albany, where City Auditor Dorcey Applyrs bested three rivals to succeed Mayor Kathy Sheehan. In Buffalo's Democratic mayoral primary, state Sen. Sean Ryan beat acting Mayor Chris Scanlon by 10 percentage points, with around 24.5% of voters turning out.
Incumbent Rochester Mayor Malik Evans easily bested challenges from Councilmember Mary Lupien and IT executive Shashi Sinha, with just 18.7% of enrolled Democrats voting. In Syracuse, Deputy Mayor Sharon Owens secured more than 60% of the vote — with voter turnout of 17.6%.
https://gothamist.com/news/democratic-primary-race-turnout-under-30-in-nys-largest-cities