Women exceed registration rates in early voting on LI

Daily Point

More than a quarter of LI voters have already cast their ballots

By the end of early voting on Sunday, 2.99 million residents or about 24% of registered voters across New York State had cast their vote, according to unofficial state Board of Elections data. And Long Island outperformed even that impressive number.

In Nassau County, 284,742 or 28% of registered voters cast ballots in the early voting period, of which 38.2% were by registered Democrats, 36.3% by Republicans, and 21.6% by unaffiliated or blank voters. Meanwhile, in Suffolk County, 289,427 residents or 26.6% of registered voters cast their votes, of which 33.2% were registered Democrats, 38% Republicans and 26% blanks.

The high turnout of women voters outpacing their registration rates, as The Point previously reported, extended all through early voting in Nassau (Suffolk comparisons were not available). In Nassau, 59% of registered Democrats are women, but 63% of Democrats who voted early were women. While women make up 48% of Republicans, 51% of early Republican voters were women.

Among State Senate districts, the largest percentage early voter turnout was in District 7, where Republican incumbent Jack Martins is being challenged by Democrat Kim Keiserman, who is making her first run for office. The turnout rate there was 30.5%, with 36.5% of those votes from registered Democrats, 33.8% from Republicans and 25.9% by blanks. The 1st Senate District, where Republican incumbent Anthony Palumbo faces a spirited challenge from Democrat Sarah Anker, saw a 26.7% turnout in early voting. Democrats cast 36% of those votes, followed by Republicans at 35% and blanks with 26.6%.

Early-voter turnout in nearly all Assembly districts across Long Island stood above 20% of total voter registrations.

The highest turnout both in terms of percentage and total votes was the hotly contested race in Assembly District 16, where Democrat Gina Sillitti is running for a third term against Republican Daniel Norber. The early-voter turnout of 34,462 represented 34% of all registered voters in the district. Of that total, 38% were registered Democrats, 31% Republicans and 27.2% unaffiliated.

In another competitive contest in the 4th Assembly District, where incumbent and recently disbarred attorney Edward Flood, a Republican, is being challenged by Democrat Rebecca Kassay, 21% of registered voters cast early ballots. The vote breakdown by party reflects the perceived tightness of the race — 7,150 votes were cast by registered Democrats, 7,065 by Republicans and 5,134 by blanks.

One other high-profile race is the open seat in the 11th Assembly District being contested by Democrat Kwani O’Pharrow and Republican Joseph Cardinale, but early voting there tells a somewhat different story. The turnout rate was similar — 17,297 votes or 21% of registered voters — but the split favored O’Pharrow, with 47.5% of the votes from registered Democrats, 28.4% from Republicans and 21.9% from blank voters.

— Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

Talking Point

Sands still in the game for a Nassau Hub casino despite online gambling concerns, exec says

The environmental review process on the Las Vegas Sands proposal to build a casino resort on the land surrounding the Nassau Hub is moving forward, to the point where a draft environmental impact statement could be made available to the Nassau County Legislature by the end of this month, sources have told The Point.

The notion that the environmental review is continuing at all is particularly telling in light of recent questions that have emerged regarding whether Sands’ bid would move forward at all, questions fueled by comments made by Las Vegas Sands chief executive Robert Goldstein during the company’s quarterly earnings call last month regarding the rise of online gambling.

In his remarks to investors and analysts, Goldstein emphasized his concern about the rise of online gambling, which is legal in nearby New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and its potential impact on brick-and-mortar casino resorts. While sports betting is legal in New York, a broader legalization would include online versions of all casino gambling, including table games like blackjack and poker, slot machines and more.

"It’s just a concern and it’s something I’ve been looking at closely," Goldstein said. "I’d love to be in New York with the right capital structure and the right licensure process."

But when asked whether Sands was still fully committed to the state’s licensing process, Sands senior vice president Ron Reese provided a clear response: "Absolutely, yes," Reese said. "It’s not a pullback. We certainly still feel we’re going to have the best bid the Gaming Commission is going to receive."

The draft environmental impact statement would mark the next step in a lengthy process that requires Sands to mitigate any environmental concerns, from traffic to water use, associated with the Nassau Hub proposal.

Sands also will need zoning approvals from the Town of Hempstead, but the company is expected to move forward with the zoning process only after the environmental review is completed. The proposal also will require a go-ahead from a community advisory board, to be selected by various elected officials, in order to even compete for the three downstate licenses that New York State is offering. Licensing decisions aren’t expected until the end of 2025.

Even the results of this week’s election, which could impact the district encompassing the Nassau Hub and those surrounding it, won’t change Sands’ strategy, Reese said.

"Some players will change but our strategy will be the same, which is to be in the community meeting with people, talking to people and listening to people," Reese added.

Reese told The Point that while there doesn’t seem to be any immediate effort to approve widespread online gambling in New York, related bills have been introduced.

But, he added, the "big unknown" is what the state budget will look like and "where are people going to look to try to fill any gaps." It’s that uncertainty, he said, that concerns Sands executives, who argue that online gaming could curtail the growth of land-based casino resorts, which, they say, would have a far broader employment and economic impact on a region like Long Island than online gaming.

"Our company is preparing a $5 billion bid," Reese said. "That’s a lot of capital to invest."

But, he said, even those worries won’t shift Sands’ present course.

"That doesn’t change our underlying commitment to our bid, to New York, or to Nassau County," Reese said. "We look forward to submitting an application."

In the meantime, Reese said, Sands representatives are still active in local activities and events across the region.

"We’re still in the community showing support for the causes we know are important to Nassau County and Long Island," he said.

— Randi F. Marshall randi.marshall@newsday.com

Pencil Point

An ad, ad, ad, ad world no more

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Quick Points

Don't bet on it

• Former President Donald Trump is laying the grounds to claim another election was stolen, citing polling and betting markets as proof he’s going to win big. Except that some of the betting markets are moving Kamala Harris’ way and the polls continue to be pretty much 50-50.
• The headline from Ann Selzer’s influential poll in Iowa — that Kamala Harris is leading Donald Trump by three percentage points in that state — was a shocker. But the really stunning stat that has a chance to resonate elsewhere is that in a heavily white Midwestern state Harris is leading among women by 20 points.
• If former President Donald Trump wins the 2024 election, he said he plans to let Robert F. Kennedy Jr. "go wild" on federal oversight of food and medicine. "Go wild" is not something anyone should want RFK Jr. doing about anything.
• Democratic National Committee vice chairman Ken Martin says Democrats are prepared for a close presidential race. If they aren’t, someone should be fired.
• Kamala Harris’ campaign says its canvassers knocked on 800,000 doors in Pennsylvania on Saturday alone. What would it say about organizing and traditional campaigning if Donald Trump wins the state?
• He was one of the most accomplished musicians of any generation — producing Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" album, writing award-winning scores for movies and television, overseeing the production of the "We are the World" charity song, and collaborating with hundreds of musical talents from Frank Sinatra and Ray Charles to Paul Simon and Aretha Franklin — and also an activist and philanthropist whose causes included childhood education and the fight against HIV/AIDS, and the person who organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration. RIP, Quincy Jones.

— Michael Dobie michael.dobie@newsday.com

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