TOMPKINS COUNTY, N.Y.—The 2022 primary election was held June 28 and across New York state, voter turnout numbers dropped significantly. Tompkins County was no different.
This year is a gubernatorial race, meaning that the offices of governor and lieutenant governor are both on the ballot. After last week’s voting, incumbent Kathy Hochul won the Democratic nomination while Lee Zeldin won the Republican nomination for the governor’s race, while Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado won the LG primary for the Democrats as well.
In 2018, 1,558,352 people voted in the gubernatorial primary but in 2022 only 863,915 people in New York state turned out, representing a 45% decrease. In Tompkins County, 11,237 people voted in the 2018 primary, but only 5,706 voted in the 2022 primary, a 49% decrease and the sixth-largest decrease statewide. In a smaller election, the Fourth Ward Common Council primary attracted just over 100 voters, though that district, which represents Collegetown, is notorious for low voter turnout.
The counties with the largest drops in voter turnout between 2018 and 2022 were Genesee County with -88%, Hamilton County with -79%, the Bronx with -60%, and Rockland and Westchester Counties tied with -53%.
One county however had an increase in voter turnout. That county was Montgomery County with +7%. The four counties with the smallest drops were Schenectady County with -8%, Ulster County with -13%, Warren County with -14% and Greene County with -22%.
During the 2018 gubernatorial primary, former governor Andrew Cuomo ran against Cynthia Nixon. This year, Hochul ran against two other Democrats — Jumaane Williams and Tom Suozzi — for the Democratic nomination.
Since 2018, the number of registered Democrats in New York has also fluctuated. In February 2022, there were 6,472,096; in February 2021 there were 6,748,526; back in April 2018 there were 6,201,033.