The Nov. 3 midterm elections are one month away. New York will elect a governor, with Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul facing Republican Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman. In New Jersey, one U.S. Senate seat is up, with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker facing Republican Justin Murphy. Both states will elect all of their U.S. House seats, and New York will also fill all 63 state Senate seats and all 150 state Assembly seats.
Election Day is one month away: Tuesday, Nov. 3. It is not a presidential year, so the mood is quiet, but once you receive your ballot, there are quite a few races to choose from.
New York: First Governor's Race in Four Years
The top office on the ballot in New York is governor. On the Democratic side, incumbent Gov. Kathy Hochul is running again, with former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as her running mate for lieutenant governor. On the Republican side, Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman is running, with Todd Hood as his lieutenant governor candidate. The Conservative Party has also nominated Blakeman. Larry Sharpe is running on the Libertarian Party line.
The race leans heavily one way. As of late August, the polling average was 49.6% for Hochul and 39.6% for Blakeman, with just over 10% of respondents undecided. All major election forecasters rate the race as favoring the Democrat.
The governor is not the only office at stake. New York will elect all 63 state Senate seats and all 150 state Assembly seats. These are the lawmakers who handle the state budget, taxes, rent regulations and school funding. In addition, under the "even-year election law" that took effect this year, county and town elections will be held on the same day. That means races that used to be voted on separately in odd-numbered years now appear on a single ballot.
New Jersey: One U.S. Senate Seat
The race to watch in New Jersey is for U.S. Senate. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker is seeking a third term. He ran unopposed in the June 2 primary and received 587,980 votes.
The Republican candidate is Justin Murphy, who finished first in a four-way primary with 82,272 votes, or 33.4%. Election forecasters also view this race as favoring the Democrat. As of the end of June, Booker had raised $33.5 million and Murphy $27,316.
Because New Jersey holds its legislative elections in odd-numbered years, there are no state Senate or Assembly races this year. Instead, all 12 U.S. House districts will be up for election, along with county and town races.
The Lower Races May Matter More
The outcomes of the races at the top of the ballot are somewhat predictable. The races lower down are the ones that touch daily life most directly. School board, county legislature and town council races are often decided by just a few hundred votes. In towns with large Korean American populations, a few percentage points of turnout can flip the result.
In New York City, the city's own ballot proposals are added on top of this. The wording can be unfamiliar, and it is easy to skim past, but if a proposal passes, local laws and administrative procedures change. Before you head to the polls, take a moment to at least read the proposal summaries.
Keep the dates in mind. The voter registration deadline is Oct. 13 in New Jersey and Oct. 24 in New York. Early voting in both states runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1. Deadlines for requesting and returning mail-in ballots vary by state, so check the guidance from your county board of elections.
If an English-language ballot feels daunting, Korean-language assistance is available. Under the federal Voting Rights Act, Korean is a designated language in Queens, so translated ballots and interpreter support are available there. Conditions differ by county elsewhere, so it is safest to ask your board of elections before going to your polling place.