Women outperforming men in early, absentee voting in Nassau

Daily Point

Turnout on LI for 2024 on pace to set a record high

Women are outpacing men in early and absentee voting in Nassau County, tracking what is already shaping up as a national gender gap of about 10%. Overall, early voting on Long Island is significantly ahead of past years but early voting during the COVID era did reduce in-person turnout. If the pattern continues through Election Day, predictions are that turnout could be as high as 70-75%.

"We are doing well," Nassau Republican chairman Joseph Cairo told The Point as he headed to a rally with House Speaker Mike Johnson at the Plattduetsche Park restaurant in Franklin Square. "Early voting and absentees are doing better than we usually do. We are pleased by where we are at," he said.

But should we mind the gap?

In Nassau County, 56.8% of the vote so far has been cast by females compared with 43.1% by males. The data shows that women are outperforming their overall registration in the county, which is 53% female and 47% male. There are approximately one million registered voters in Nassau.

Nassau Democratic Party chairman Jay Jacobs said he was "feeling good" about those numbers, saying a deeper dive by party registration made him even more optimistic. The Democratic registration is 59% female but 62% of early ballots and 64% of mail-in ballots have been from women, he said.

Similarly, the Republican registration overall is 48% female but 52% of early voters were women and 53% of mail-in ballots were from women.

For those not registered to any party, the gender split is 50-50. But the trend is the same: 52% of the early votes and 55% of the mail-in ballots were from women.

"They are coming out early for us, they are not rushing out to vote for Trump," said Jacobs.

Cairo said the stronger female turnout so far could be tied to reproductive rights and he wasn’t surprised. "That’s the only factor they played," Cairo said of the Democrats. But he predicted more voters would end up voting Republican because of "illegal migrants, cashless bail and inflation, the things that make a difference in their everyday lives."

— Rita Ciolli rita.ciolli@newsday.com, Karthika Namboothiri karthika.namboothiri@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Don't vote, don't gripe

For more cartoons, visit www.newsday.com/0913nationalcartoons

Final Point

A 'child of nepotism' paid by the Blakeman administration joined the 'KillTony' show

After Sunday’s Donald Trump rally, the comedian who took the stage early — and told weak and witless one-liners that stereotyped Puerto Ricans, Hispanics, Blacks and Jews — got many people to check him out online.

Tony Hinchcliffe posted a video from his "KillTony" stage show on YouTube last month. He hosted a panel that introduced and interviewed a stream of stand-up performers. One was the namesake son of former GOP Assemb. Tom Alfano, of North Valley Stream.

"I’m married. I don’t look much like married material. I look like weed material," the younger Tom Alfano said, referencing his leisure shirt, jeans, shoulder-length hair and beard. When Hinchcliffe asked if he was in "horticulture" for a living, Alfano told him: "No. I work for the Nassau County government on Long Island."

"Oh my God," Hinchcliffe said. "What do you do for the government? ... World’s wackiest meter maid?"

Alfano said: "I’m a child of nepotism. My father was a New York State assemblyman ... That’s the way the world works, people! ... Look at Donald Trump Jr., heh heh."

Indeed, Alfano is found on the county payroll, paid at a rate of $63,600 annually as a "legislative liaison." His father, Thomas W. Alfano, served in the Assembly between Feb. 15, 1996, and Dec. 31, 2010, and is with the law firm Abrams Fensterman, LLP.

Seated near Hinchcliffe for the "KillTony" show was Shane Gillis, a very competent Donald Trump imitator, who said, "Don’t ever f — talk about my son. Ever! Ever! What are you doing here — I thought I drone-striked you years ago." Riffing again on Alfano’s appearance, Gillis-as-Trump said, "I found this creature, he was in a cave, I said ‘Get rid of him.' We’d have all been saved tonight from those absolutely embarrassing jokes."

Asked about his ambition as a youth, Alfano said, "I dreamed of being a comedian ... Thank God Tony [Hinchcliffe] made that possible."

Asked what does he do in government with a face like his, Alfano said, "I am a legislative liaison."

Hinchcliffe asked Alfano if, on the side, he’s "with a Steely Dan cover band or something like that." Alfano quipped: "Oh I smoke weed and play video games and do mushrooms."

Asked to tell something weird about himself, Alfano said: "I used to euthanize dogs," which got some boos.

Hinchcliffe spritzed: "This guy is terrible. We’re gonna get him out of here ..." Then he encouraged the audience to "make noise" for Alfano as he left.

Perhaps wisely, the county’s younger Tom Alfano does not seem to have quit his day job.

This is the video, in which comedian Alfano begins at 1:22:40.

— Dan Janison dan.janison@newsday.com

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