What’s On Your Ballot?

Last school year, the Opinions Department launched an election literacy project Road to November 2024, in which we covered the basis of how to register to vote this upcoming election day and how to pre-register for future elections. With the November 5th election nearing, the Road to November 2024 is finally coming to an end; however, we still urge voters to pre-register for the 2025 election cycle. In the spirit of the election season, The Spectator has created a guide that focuses on state and local elections and implores readers to stay civically engaged. 

2024 Local Elections and Proposals

In addition to being a presidential election year, 2024 is the year when New Yorkers can vote on state government officials. State Assembly and Senate elections are available in your district. Many Democratic primaries occurred over the summer, such as District 69’s close primary election. However, many contentious general elections are on the ballot. Incumbent State Senators Toby Ann Stavisky in District 11 and Iwen Chu in District 17 face strong Republican challengers as the district’s growing Asian-American population and shifting political demographics further tighten the race. 

Voting, if eligible, and volunteering in local politics is the most direct way to contribute to the political process in our communities as students. Incumbent Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is also up for re-election for her seat in the U.S. Senate, facing former New York Police Department detective Mike Sparaicone on national level issues such as the economy and immigration.

This year, six ballot measures and proposals will also be up for voting. Ballot proposals are pieces of legislation that voters have a direct say on and can range in topic from extending certain state agencies to amending the New York State Constitution. Every ballot has the formal language of each proposal at a standard 8th grade reading level, but are often extremely nuanced:

• Proposal 1 amends the New York State Constitution to be more inclusive of all New Yorkers. It aims to prevent discrimination based on an individual’s choice on abortion and reproductive organs, extending equal protection of New York laws to everyone, which is already granted regardless of racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual identity. City Council describes this proposal as a final protection for the right to an abortion after the Dobbs decision removed national protections. The proposal is backed by several pro-choice groups like the League of Women Voters for its abortion protections, while some conservatives worry that the law will open up transgender women athletes to compete in women’s sport divisions.
• Proposal 2 grants more power to the Department of Sanitation to clean up streets and public spaces, bypassing certain checks on sanitation decisions that were in place. In order to deal with street garbage, the measure also allows the Department to regulate street vendors more directly, which critics argue would lead to the abusive treatment of small businesses.
• Proposal 3 forces the City Council to submit financial reports on potential laws before a public hearing, and delays the Mayor’s deadline for submitting annual budget reports. The proposal allows the Office of Management and Budget to submit their own reports, adding further bureaucracy to New York City’s financial system. Though this may make such reports more accurate and comprehensive, it also would further slow operations in an already slow city government.
• Proposal 4 compels City Council to give a 30-day notice on any piece of legislation affecting public safety agencies like the NYPD, the Department of Correction, or the Fire Department. This would allow for either the Mayor or these agencies to hold public hearings to get New Yorkers’ feedback on the laws, though some say that it would give the Mayor outsized power to now propose public hearings and delay changes.
• Proposal 5 provides more comprehensive reports on the City’s infrastructure, which then inform decisions about capital planning allocation. The measure requires capital spending to directly consider these maintenance reports alongside repairs and improvements, making the budget more comprehensive. While this would change capital planning, progressives argue that it does little to solve the issue since the allocation system would still exist as-is.
• Proposal 6 permanently creates the Chief Business Diversity Officer position, which is unique to the Adams Administration. The proposal then grants the Mayor the power to give film permits and combines two Municipal Archive Boards. This measure combines multiple actions that critics believe could have been enacted through the City Council. 

2025 Local Elections

On September 26, Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on federal charges, including bribery, conspiracy, and campaign finance offenses. The mayor allegedly accepted illegal campaign donations from Turkish officials and businessmen in exchange for political favors. In a climate full of political turmoil, it is crucial to know your mayoral candidates for next year’s election: 

Comptroller Brad Lander (D): Current city comptroller and former City Council member in Brooklyn. 

• Lander was elected to the City Council in 2009 as a Brooklyn representative, and he was elected as the city’s comptroller in 2021. Lander is an active critic of Mayor Adams, restricting his emergency spending powers amid the migrant crisis, leading to his rising status in the 2025 Mayoral Race. Lander has progressive roots, such as advocating for expanding 3-K and affordable housing programs.

Scott M. Stringer (D): Former New York City comptroller, Manhattan borough president, assemblymember and 2021 mayoral candidate. 

• Stringer has been a long-time rival and critic of Adams; he ran against the mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary. He claims to have the qualities of a good leader through his experience with NYC finances. However, he continues to fight against sexual assault allegations, and has filed a defamation suit against his alleged victim. 

Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D): State Assembly member representing Astoria, Ditmars-Steinway and Astoria Heights in Queens.

• Mamdani was elected as State Assembly member in 2020. He was endorsed for mayor by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. 

State Senator Zellnor Myrie (D): State senator representing parts of Central Brooklyn and chair of the Senate elections committee. 

• During his time in the Senate, Myrie has led many vote reform changes, such as establishing a statewide voting and elections database. Additionally, one of the major ideas that his campaign focuses on is universal after-school programming across the state—a bill that he sponsored. 

State Senator Jessica Ramos (D): State Senator representing East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights and Corona, Queens and chair of the Senate labor committee.

• Ramos announced her candidacy through a launch video, where she discusses her work as a labor leader and representing Latino voters. She centers her campaign around raising the minimum wage and fighting back against corrupt businesses such as when she disavowed Steven A. Cohen’s casino proposal in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Curtis Sliwa (R): Broadcaster, founder of the Guardian Angels and 2021 mayoral candidate

• Silwa has been surrounded by controversy ever since founding the “Guardian Angels”, a citizen group dedicated to fighting crime on the subway that was revealed to have faked rescues for publicity. The self-declared “People’s Mayor” secured just over a quarter of the city’s votes in the 2021 mayoral election and strongly advocates against the city’s asylum provisions. He vows to hold Adams accountable for opening shelters for asylum-seeking migrants with little notice to the neighborhoods.