New York Capital Brief:

A Pandemic, Protests and Civil Unrest, and now, a Problem-Plagued Primary

Governor Cuomo issued two Executive Orders allowing all New Yorkers to vote absentee in the June 23rd primaries and automatically distributed postage-paid applications to receive a ballot to all New Yorkers.

Preliminary results for New York’s legislative primary election showed mixed outcomes for incumbents and insurgent candidates competing for nearly three dozen seats in the State Legislature. Results could take weeks to finalize due to the expanded mail-in voting system that resulted in nearly 1.8 absentee votes.

Cuomo’s Budget Strategy

When the New York’s FY 2021 budget was passed in the beginning of April, Governor Cuomo was granted new powers to impose rolling budget cuts throughout the year to offset the now $13B budget gap. Governor Cuomo asserts that he is holding off on making budget decisions until the federal government provides the State with unrestricted aid, to the tune of $60 billion. Cuomo, with the support of the National Governors Association, continues to give fiery defense of federal funding to hard-hit states.

COVID Update

While many areas of upstate New York are experiencing a reasonably smooth transition back to normalcy, other areas such as NYC, are experiencing setbacks. Today, Governor Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that although NYC is approaching Phase III, indoor dining will be postponed.