November 2nd was Election Day in the United States. New York, and specifically Nassau and Suffolk Counties, held elections for several government positions.
New York has four Judicial Departments that make up New York, and these departments include all 62 state counties. In addition, there are 13 Judicial Districts, all of which deal with different counties and courts. The 10th Judicial District includes Nassau and Suffolk County courts.
In this election, there are eight candidates to be voted on for the position of Justice of the Supreme Court in the afore-mentioned district: Timothy S. Driscoll, Susan B. Heckman, Vito M. DeStefano, Danielle M. Peterson, Elizabeth Fox-McDonough, Eileen Daly Sapraicone, Christopher Modelewski, and Conrad D. Singer. All candidates are running as Republican, Democratic, and Conservative, and they are the only candidates to be chosen for this position.
According to the Suffolk County Legislature’s website, there are 18 Legislative Districts in Suffolk County, each encompassing a particular town or area. For example, Legislative District 7 includes Brookhaven, while District 1 includes Riverhead and Southold.
Two and occasionally three candidates run for County Legislator in each district, and a single candidate must be chosen from each. Albert J. Krupski, Jr. (Democratic/Conservative) and Remy Bell (Republican) are competing for County Legislator in District 1, whereas Dominick S. Thorne (Republican/Conservative) and Robert T. Calarco (Democratic/Working Families) battle for District 7.
Other positions to be filled in this election include County Court Judge, for which Steven A. Pilewski is running uncontested, as a Republican, Democratic, and Conservative; Family Court Judge, for which Mary E. Porter (Republican/Democratic/Conservative) and Alfred C. Graf (Republican/Conservative) are both running, also uncontested; Raymond A. Tierney, Republican/Conservative, and Timothy D. Sini, Democratic/Keep Crime Low party, are battling for District Attorney; and Errol D. Toulon, Jr. (Democratic/Conservative) and William Amato (Republican) run for County Sheriff.
Various towns on Long Island are also running for other town-specific positions, including Town Supervisor, Town Clerk, Assessor, Superintendent of Highways, Councilman, and Trustee.
In addition to government positions, there are five proposed amendments to the U.S. Constitution that are on the ballot. These proposals offer the following changes, respectively: 1) amend the apportionment and redistricting process within the state; 2) guarantee every citizen the right to “clean air,” “clean water,” and a “healthful environment”; 3) eliminate the 10-day advance voter registration requirement; 4) authorize no-excuse absentee ballot voting; 5) increase the jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court. The proposals must be either opposed or approved.
At the time of this writing, the election results of Suffolk County, and more generally Long Island, are not yet official. In fact, according to the New York State Board of Elections’ website, the results for a general election typically take up to 25 days to fully process.
However, while the results are not official, the outcomes for most if not all positions in Suffolk County seem to be clear. There are evident margins between many candidates running for each office; it is more or less certain at this point who will win each position.
There seems to be an overall lean in favor of Republican candidates this election, as noted by several news sources, including The New York Times and New York Daily News, early on. When they come out, official election results for Suffolk County can be viewed at the Department of Board Elections’ website.