Relatively Quiet Local Political Year Includes a Number of Judicial Elections (Gotham Gazette)
Gotham Gazette, May 14, 2019
Relatively Quiet Local Political Year Includes a Number of Judicial Elections
“The election slate this year includes often-overlooked judicial races, mostly for Civil Court….The process for electing judges in New York is heavily reliant on the political parties. The New York City Bar Association even tells prospective judges that ‘political party nomination (especially the Democratic Party nomination, in all counties except Richmond) is very important for election.’ In every borough except Staten Island (Richmond County), the Democratic Party nominees for judgeships are almost always elected in the November general elections. These judicial primaries are usually low-turnout and low-information contests. At times, there are only enough candidates on the ballot for the number of seats available, essentially giving voters no options and guaranteeing victory to those whose names do appear. That’s not always the case, however, and there are some competitive races this year.”
