White Plains CitizeNetReporter

WPCNR CAMPAIGN 2020 By John F. Bailey. June 24, 2020 UPDATED WITH ABSENTEE BALLOTS RECEIVED NUMBERS in Assembly District 93 and Congressional District 17, 10:55 AM:

The outcome of most Westchester Assembly and Congressional Races is on pause.

With vote counting suspended as of 2:00 AM not much had changed since midnight when voting counts were stalled out with machine counts.

According to news reports about 99,000 Westchester absentee ballots are to be counted beginning June 30, the date by law that the Board of Elections has to wait for all absentee ballots to arrive in case they were mailed very close to or on the primary date

In the races, the Westchester County election results by poll count at this time with tens of thousands of absentee ballots to be counted show the following:

In the races, Mimi Rocah in the race for Westchester District Attorney led Anthony Scarpino, the incumbent D.A. by a 2 to 1 margin.

Christopher Burdick, Bedford Town Supervisor lead Kristen Browde of Chappaqua by 130 votes ( 1,421 to 1,291) for the 93rd Assembly District.

Jamaal Bowman lead Elliot Engel in the 16th congressional district, with most of Westchester still to be counted.

Mondaire Jones had 50% of the vote for the 17th Congressional District. Howver, according to Candidate David Buchwald as of Saturday: There were 17,800 absentee ballots received in Westchester and 4,000 in Rockland County, and Mr. Buchwald tells WPCNR those numbers are sure to go up. The totals as of 10:30 AM..NOT CHANGED SINCE MIDNIGHT:

CATHERINE F PARKER 433 3%

MONDAIRE JONES 6,803 49%

ADAM P SCHLEIFER 1,717 12%

ALLISON H FINE 426 3%

ASHA CASTLEBERRY 799 6%

BUCHWALD 1,347 10%

EVELYN FARKAS 1,912 14% %

Office Totals 13,827 100%

The totals for the Assembly Race representing White Plains awaiting absentee ballots tally which will not start to be counted until June 30.

KRISTEN BROWDE, speaking to WPCNR this morning estimated there would be 14,000 absentee ballots to be counted in the 93rd race.

Election machine totals have been completed, Browde said, but the total votes below do not comprise the early vote totals which are counted separately on another page on the County website. Browde told WPCNR, the race tightened a little from the early voting but the margins are pretty much the same.

Office ASSEMBLY DISTRICT 93:

KRISTEN P BROWDE 1,291 29% Early Votes 355 Total 1,646

CHRIS BURDICK 1,421 32% Early Votes 413 Total 1,834

JEREMIAH F PEARSON 935 21% Early Votes 360 TOTAL 1,295

ALEX ROITHMAYR 427 10% Early Votes 84 TOTAL 511

MARK JAFFE 307 7% Early Votes 127 TOTAL 434

Office Totals 4,381 100%

DISTRICT ATTORNEY 

ANTHONY A SCARPINO 9,668 32%

MIMI ROCAH 20,837 68%

Office Totals 30,505 100%
OfficeCONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT 17 

However the absentee ballots, as three candidates pointed out in WPCNR interviews over the weekend, will determine the result. The Board of Elections results are at this link:

https://www.westchestergov.com/boe99/

EDITOR’S REQUEST FOR YOUR PRIMARY EXPERIENCE IN WHITE PLAINS; WPCNR would like your comments on how polling place voting went in White Plains. Just write wpcnr@aol.com. Letters must be signed, however you may request anonymity and it will be respected. If you voted by absentee ballot, tell us about that experience.

WPCNR THE LETTER TICKER. From Paul Feiner, Greenburgh Town Supervisor. June 24, 2020:

NUMEROUS COMPLAINTS ABOUT 2020 PRIMARY ELECTIONS

 Received many complaints about the primary election. Please be advised that the town of Greenburgh does not oversee primary elections. The elections are overseen by the Westchester County Board of Elections.

 The primary election on June 23rd had numerous problems. Some residents did not receive absentee ballots that they had requested. There were long lines at the polling places on June 23rd.

See the e mail from a resident below who was still waiting to vote at 11:01 PM (two hours after the polls were supposed to close). Machines malfunctioned.

Some residents complained of the lines and did not vote. Voters waited two hours in some instances to vote. 

One of the 5 polling places had no air conditioning. At some locations inadequate crowd control.

I had joined others in objecting to the significant reduction in the number of polling places in Greenburgh. We have 81 districts. In the past there were over thirty polling places. On Tuesday there were 5. No wonder why there were long lines. 

(EDITOR’S NOTE: White Plains has 42 election districts usually covered by numerous polling places, yesterday there were 3.)

I continue to worry whether all absentee ballots will be counted. The postal service is unreliable. I had suggested that the Board of Elections figure out a way to confirm the receipt of the ballot to the voter.  This would enable voters who think they voted to vote in person if the ballot is not received.

If voters won’t have confidence in the integrity and fairness of our election system our democracy will be in trouble. I urge the Board of Elections and NYS to conduct a comprehensive review of the 2020 primary election and to make sure that the problems that existed never happen again.

We must never reduce the number of polling locations in the town.

One shouldn’t have to wait an unreasonable time to vote.

Voters should receive confirmation when the ballot is received from the Board of Elections. This would provide voters with the opportunity to vote in person if the ballot was not received.

The Board of Elections should prepare a report -what went wrong and what will be done to make sure that the problems we just experienced won’t happen in November.

These are some of the complaints I received.

COMPLAINT NUMBER ONE –LONG LINES -WAITED TILL AFTER 11 PM TO VOTE
Sent: Tuesday, June 23, 2020 11:01 PM
To: Paul Feiner
Subject: Waiting still to vote in Greenburgh 
COMPLAINT NUMBER TWO- MALFUNCTIONS WITH MACHINES, LONG LINES, LACK OF AIR CONDITIONING

I am incredibly disappointed and alarmed at the conditions at the Woodlands HS gym when I went to vote this evening at 6P. Not only was the wait 90 minutes, but the conditions were unsafe.

The gym had inadequate power so that no fans or air conditioning was possible; there was no ventilation. There were elderly and infirm individuals with canes there who were made to stand for the entire time and not afforded any accommodation.

God was clearly watching that no one collapsed in extremis. I left there after 90 minutes tachycardic, dehydrated and with a temperature of 100.

1. One of the registration machines that printed the ballots kept shutting down b/o inadequate power.

During the period of time I was there at least 30 votes were lost from people/families who couldn’t tolerate the conditions and left. We complain about voter suppression occurring in less progressive areas of the country only to have the same thing occur here.

This is unconscionable and not what I expect from NY state or Westchester County. I hope we can expect better in November.

A 32-year Hartsdale resident and most unhappy constituent,

COMPLAINT NUMBER 3  INADEQUATE HELP TO CONTROL CROWDS–CROWD CONTROL PROBLEMS

Very disappointed by the long lines, slowly moving registration , disorganized voting at Woodlands.

Not enough help .. there should be more help here to crowd control considering the limited number of voting centers due to Covid. 

This will hurt our democratic voting turnout   Also very hot in this gym   People are not happy !!

COMPLAINT NUMBER 4 – DID NOT RECEIVE ABSENTEE BALLOT
Good morning,

I am writing again to inform you that Primary Day is here and I still have not received my absentee ballot. I have been in touch with the Board of Elections on several occasions and was told the ballot is coming from Rochester and I will get it on time.

Obviously, this is not true.

As an 82 year old senior citizen who has always voted, I am quite disturbed by this situation.
I thought this matter should be brought  to your attention.
Thank you.

GOVERNOR CUOMO ANNOUNCES $65 MILLION NY FORWARD CHILD CARE EXPANSION INCENTIVE

WORRY: 1.2 Percent of Yesterday’s COVID-19 Tests were Positive

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that $65 million in federal CARES Act funding is available for child care providers statewide through the New York Forward Child Care Expansion Incentive program.

The funding available includes:

• $20 million to assist childcare program with reopening and expansion of capacity by providing materials to support a more socially distant model, and for supplies and activities associated with reopening and expansion. This may include partitions, short term rental of space, etc.

• $45 million in childcare Reopening and Expansion Incentive funds to pay for 50% of the cost of a newly opened classroom (maximum grant amount of $6,000) as an incentivize to open the classroom. The temporary funds will phase out over the second and third months as more parents bring their children back into childcare.

Throughout the pandemic, 65 percent of OCFS-licensed and -registered child care programs remained open, many serving families of essential workers. The funding being made available today will help to bring closed programs back to operation to serve families returning to the workplace.

“New York went from one of the highest infection rates in the country to one of the lowest because we made decisions based on science – not politics,” Governor Cuomo said. “We’re seeing in other states what happens when you just reopen with no regard for metrics or data – it’s bad for public health and for the economy, and states that reopened in a rush are now seeing a boomerang. We do about 60,000 tests per day – more than any state or country on a per capita basis and approximately 1 percent of tests are coming back positive. We do this testing religiously, and we watch the rate and calibrate our reopening by that rate. The Hudson Valley moves to phase 3 today and Long Island will go to phase 3 tomorrow.

“As we move further into the reopening and more parents go back to work, we’re also making sure child care programs across the state have the support they need to reopen safely,” Governor Cuomo continued. “By providing support for expanded classrooms that allow for more social distancing and other resources, we can help keep staff and children safe.”

To be eligible for reopening funds, child care programs must have either been closed as of June 15 and have a plan to reopen within two weeks of applying or currently operating below their licensed capacity and would like to expand. The grants will be pro-rated as programs reach capacity. Programs must submit a detailed plan for use of funds and must remain open at least through the end of the year. 

The maximum awards for the $20 million in Reopening and Restructuring Incentives depend on the size of the program and range from $300 to $1,600 one-time grants. Child care programs may apply to OCFS through July 15.

The governor also updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Patient Hospitalization – 1,104 (down -18 from the day before)
• Number ICU – 302 (down -28 from the day before)
• Number ICU that are intubated – 204 (down -24 from the day before)
• Total Discharges – 69,769 (up +59 from the day before)
• Deaths – 27
• Total Deaths – 24,766

Of the 48,709 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, 597, or 1.2 percent, were positive. Each region’s percentage of positive tests over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	SATURDAY	SUNDAY	MONDAY
New York City	1.20%	1.10%	1.40%
Capital Region	0.40%	0.70%	1.30%
Central New York	0.90%	0.70%	1.80%
Finger Lakes	0.40%	0.70%	1.10%
Long Island	1.00%	0.90%	1.10%
Hudson Valley	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Mohawk Valley	1.00%	1.40%	0.50%
North Country	0.20%	0.10%	0.40%
Southern Tier	0.30%	0.30%	0.20%
Western New York	0.80%	1.00%	1.30%

The Governor also confirmed 597 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 389,085 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 389,085 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	2,062	2
Allegany	58	0
Broome	671	1
Cattaraugus	118	3
Cayuga	108	0
Chautauqua	116	0
Chemung	139	0
Chenango	141	1
Clinton	100	0
Columbia	454	2
Cortland	44	0
Delaware	91	1
Dutchess	4,150	5
Erie	7,073	38
Essex	41	0
Franklin	28	1
Fulton	244	0
Genesee	229	4
Greene	256	0
Hamilton	6	0
Herkimer	137	0
Jefferson	84	0
Lewis	24	1
Livingston	125	1
Madison	347	0
Monroe	3,540	28
Montgomery	109	1
Nassau	41,544	31
Niagara	1195	2
NYC	21,3056	315
Oneida	1,421	5
Onondaga	2,702	27
Ontario	242	0
Orange	10,666	12
Orleans	277	1
Oswego	179	6
Otsego	83	0
Putnam	1,305	0
Rensselaer	533	5
Rockland	13,529	15
Saratoga	538	3
Schenectady	770	9
Schoharie	57	0
Schuyler	12	0
Seneca	64	0
St. Lawrence	217	0
Steuben	263	0
Suffolk	41,056	46
Sullivan	1,440	2
Tioga	141	1
Tompkins	175	0
Ulster	1,757	1
Warren	262	0
Washington	244	0
Wayne	145	2
Westchester	34,581	24
Wyoming	93	0
Yates	43	1

###

WPCNR ALBANY ROUNDS. From the Governor’s Press Office. June 22, 2020 UPDATED WITH SUNDAY RESULTS:

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Monday updated New Yorkers on the Sunday Covid situation this morning.

The Governor announced that global public health experts cleared the Mid-Hudson Valley to enter Phase 3 of reopening tomorrow. Long Island is on track to enter Phase 3 of reopening Wednesday. Business guidance for Phase Three of the state’s reopening plan is available here.

“In New York, we’ve been following the science and the data and the metrics from day one. We have the best numbers that we’ve had since this started today in New York,” Governor Cuomo said. “Yesterday, we only had ten deaths, down from a high of 800. We have about 1,000 people in our hospitals, which is one of the lowest numbers we’ve had since this began. Because of the changes New Yorkers made, we now have the lowest transmission rate in the United States of America.”

Monday’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Deaths: 10, lowest since March 21st  
• Hospitalizations: 1,122 (down from 1,142 the day before)
• ICU Hospitalizations: 330
• ICU Hospitalizations that are Intubated: 228
• Total Discharges: 69,710

Of the 56,780 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, 552, or .97 percent, were positive. Each region’s percentage of positive tests over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
New York City	1.10%	1.20%	1.10%
Capital Region	0.70%	0.40%	0.70%
Central New York	0.60%	0.90%	0.70%
Finger Lakes	1.10%	0.40%	0.70%
Long Island	1.10%	1.00%	0.90%
Hudson Valley	1.10%	1.00%	1.00%
Mohawk Valley	1.80%	1.00%	1.40%
North Country	0.40%	0.20%	0.10%
Southern Tier	0.40%	0.30%	0.30%
Western New York	0.80%	0.80%	1.00%

The Governor also confirmed 552 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 388,488 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 388,488 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	2,060	6
Allegany	58	0
Broome	670	2
Cattaraugus	115	0
Cayuga	108	0
Chautauqua	116	0
Chemung	139	0
Chenango	140	1
Clinton	100	0
Columbia	452	1
Cortland	44	0
Delaware	90	0
Dutchess	4,145	7
Erie	7,035	31
Essex	41	0
Franklin	27	0
Fulton	244	1
Genesee	225	3
Greene	256	0
Hamilton	6	0
Herkimer	137	1
Jefferson	84	0
Lewis	23	0
Livingston	124	1
Madison	347	2
Monroe	3,512	14
Montgomery	108	2
Nassau	41,513	34
Niagara	1,193	1
NYC	212,741	295
Oneida	1,416	23
Onondaga	2,675	9
Ontario	242	2
Orange	10,654	6
Orleans	276	0
Oswego	173	0
Otsego	83	1
Putnam	1,305	4
Rensselaer	528	4
Rockland	13,514	10
Saratoga	535	2
Schenectady	761	7
Schoharie	57	0
Schuyler	12	0
Seneca	64	0
St. Lawrence	217	1
Steuben	263	2
Suffolk	41,010	38
Sullivan	1,438	1
Tioga	140	0
Tompkins	175	0
Ulster	1,756	2
Warren	262	1
Washington	244	0
Wayne	143	0
Westchester	34,557	36
Wyoming	93	0
Yates	42	1

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Sunday updated New Yorkers on the state’s progress during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

New York City will enter Phase Two of reopening on today, June 22, and the Mid-Hudson region remains on track to enter Phase Three on Tuesday, June 23. The number of new cases, percentage of tests that were positive and many other helpful data points are always available at forward.ny.gov.

“The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over, and as we reopen New York safely and incrementally, the state government will continue to provide timely information so that New Yorkers can make educated decisions for themselves and their families,” Governor Cuomo said. “Yesterday, less than 1 percent of COVID-19 tests conducted in the state were positive, which means we continue to be on the right path toward defeating the virus.”

Today’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Hospitalizations: 1,142
• Deaths: 15
• ICU Hospitalizations: 332

Of the 67,526 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, 664, or .98 percent, were positive. Each region’s percentage of positive tests over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	THURSDAY	FRIDAY	SATURDAY
New York City	1.10%	1.10%	1.20%
Capital Region	1.00%	0.70%	0.40%
Central New York	1.30%	0.60%	0.90%
Finger Lakes	1.00%	1.10%	0.40%
Long Island	0.80%	1.10%	1.00%
Hudson Valley	1.10%	1.10%	1.00%
Mohawk Valley	1.50%	1.80%	1.00%
North Country	0.10%	0.40%	0.20%
Southern Tier	0.20%	0.40%	0.30%
Western New York	0.70%	0.80%	0.80%

The Governor also confirmed 664 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 387,936 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 387,936 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	2,054	1
Allegany	58	0
Broome	668	3
Cattaraugus	115	2
Cayuga	108	0
Chautauqua	116	1
Chemung	139	0
Chenango	139	0
Clinton	100	0
Columbia	451	0
Cortland	44	0
Delaware	90	0
Dutchess	4,138	11
Erie	7,004	24
Essex	41	0
Franklin	27	0
Fulton	243	0
Genesee	222	0
Greene	256	1
Hamilton	6	0
Herkimer	136	2
Jefferson	84	1
Lewis	23	1
Livingston	123	0
Madison	345	2
Monroe	3,498	11
Montgomery	106	0
Nassau	41,479	36
Niagara	1,192	4
NYC	212,446	385
Oneida	1,393	15
Onondaga	2,666	22
Ontario	240	1
Orange	10,648	10
Orleans	276	1
Oswego	173	4
Otsego	82	0
Putnam	1,301	0
Rensselaer	524	3
Rockland	13,504	9
Saratoga	533	2
Schenectady	754	5
Schoharie	57	1
Schuyler	12	0
Seneca	64	0
St. Lawrence	216	0
Steuben	261	0
Suffolk	40,972	64
Sullivan	1,437	2
Tioga	140	0
Tompkins	175	1
Ulster	1,754	4
Warren	261	0
Washington	244	0
Wayne	143	0
Westchester	34,521	35
Wyoming	93	0
Yates	41	0

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Monday updated New Yorkers on the Sunday Covid situation.

The Governor announced that global public health experts cleared the Mid-Hudson Valley to enter Phase 3 of reopening tomorrow. Long Island is on track to enter Phase 3 of reopening Wednesday. Business guidance for Phase Three of the state’s reopening plan is available here.

“In New York, we’ve been following the science and the data and the metrics from day one. We have the best numbers that we’ve had since this started today in New York,” Governor Cuomo said. “Yesterday, we only had ten deaths, down from a high of 800. We have about 1,000 people in our hospitals, which is one of the lowest numbers we’ve had since this began. Because of the changes New Yorkers made, we now have the lowest transmission rate in the United States of America.”

Monday’s data is summarized briefly below:

• Deaths: 10, lowest since March 21st  
• Hospitalizations: 1,122 (down from 1,142 the day before)
• ICU Hospitalizations: 330
• ICU Hospitalizations that are Intubated: 228
• Total Discharges: 69,710

Of the 56,780 tests conducted in New York State yesterday, 552, or .97 percent, were positive. Each region’s percentage of positive tests over the last three days is as follows:

REGION	FRIDAY	SATURDAY	SUNDAY
New York City	1.10%	1.20%	1.10%
Capital Region	0.70%	0.40%	0.70%
Central New York	0.60%	0.90%	0.70%
Finger Lakes	1.10%	0.40%	0.70%
Long Island	1.10%	1.00%	0.90%
Hudson Valley	1.10%	1.00%	1.00%
Mohawk Valley	1.80%	1.00%	1.40%
North Country	0.40%	0.20%	0.10%
Southern Tier	0.40%	0.30%	0.30%
Western New York	0.80%	0.80%	1.00%

The Governor also confirmed 552 additional cases of novel coronavirus, bringing the statewide total to 388,488 confirmed cases in New York State. Of the 388,488 total individuals who tested positive for the virus, the geographic breakdown is as follows:

County	Total Positive	New Positive
Albany	2,060	6
Allegany	58	0
Broome	670	2
Cattaraugus	115	0
Cayuga	108	0
Chautauqua	116	0
Chemung	139	0
Chenango	140	1
Clinton	100	0
Columbia	452	1
Cortland	44	0
Delaware	90	0
Dutchess	4,145	7
Erie	7,035	31
Essex	41	0
Franklin	27	0
Fulton	244	1
Genesee	225	3
Greene	256	0
Hamilton	6	0
Herkimer	137	1
Jefferson	84	0
Lewis	23	0
Livingston	124	1
Madison	347	2
Monroe	3,512	14
Montgomery	108	2
Nassau	41,513	34
Niagara	1,193	1
NYC	212,741	295
Oneida	1,416	23
Onondaga	2,675	9
Ontario	242	2
Orange	10,654	6
Orleans	276	0
Oswego	173	0
Otsego	83	1
Putnam	1,305	4
Rensselaer	528	4
Rockland	13,514	10
Saratoga	535	2
Schenectady	761	7
Schoharie	57	0
Schuyler	12	0
Seneca	64	0
St. Lawrence	217	1
Steuben	263	2
Suffolk	41,010	38
Sullivan	1,438	1
Tioga	140	0
Tompkins	175	0
Ulster	1,756	2
Warren	262	1
Washington	244	0
Wayne	143	0
Westchester	34,557	36
Wyoming	93	0
Yates	42	1