Photo via Getty Images VOTERS GUIDE How and when to vote in the Feb. 23 special election for City Council District 31
BY CLARISSA SOSIN
The borough is barely
coming up for air after the
City Council District 24 special
election earlier this week
and already it’s time to think
about the next race — the special
election for City Council
District 31.
Voters in District 31,
which encompasses Arverne,
Brookville, Edgemere, Far
Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale
and Springfield Gardens, are
set to vote over the next few
weeks on who will serve out
the rest of former City Council
member and now Queens Borough
President Donovan Richards’
term on the New York
City Council.
Nine candidates are vying
for the seat which became vacant
in December when Richards
became Queens borough
president: Nancy J. Martinez,
Selvena N. Brooks-Powers,
LaToya R. Benjamin, Latanya
Collins, Sherwyn A.
James, Nicole S. Lee, Pesach
Osina, Shawn Rux and Manuel
Silva.
The election will be the
city’s second using rankedchoice
voting after the city
first tried it out earlier this
month in the special election
for City Council District 24 to
replace former Councilman
Rory Lancman.
Voters will rank their top
TIMESLEDGER | QNS.10 COM | FEB. 12-FEB. 18, 2021
five candidates in order of
preference. The first-choice
votes will then be tallied and
if no candidate receives more
than 50 percent of the vote,
there will be a runoff.
The candidate who received
the least amount of first-choice
votes will be eliminated, and
the second-choice candidate
on the ballots with the eliminated
first choice candidate
will then be counted.
This will continue until
one candidate has more than
half of the votes.
If this happens in the upcoming
special, it will be the
first ranked-choice voting run
off in the city. There was no
runoff in the recent special
election because, according to
the unofficial preliminary results,
candidate James Gennaro
won nearly 60 percent of the
vote in the first round.
Registered voters in District
31 can vote in this election
by mail with an absentee
ballot or in person during early
voting or on election day.
Absentee ballots must be
requested before Tuesday,
Feb. 16, but the New York City
Board of Elections (BOE) recommends
getting requests in
as soon as possible. Applications
must be postmarked by
Feb. 16.
Voters can also request absentee
ballots in person up until
Monday, Feb. 22, at a BOE office.
Visit the BOE website for
more information on voting by
mail with an absentee ballot
and to find the absentee ballot
application.
Early voting begins on Saturday,
Feb. 13, and goes until
Sunday, Feb. 21. Polling sites
for early voting are different
than on election day. To look
up early voting sites, use the
city’s poll finder website.
And, if you love going to
the polls on election day, hold
tight until Tuesday, Feb. 23,
when you can vote in person at
your poll site. To look up election
sites, use the city’s poll
finder website.
Check out the BOE’s voter
guide for more information.