Super Tuesday Pre-Game: Getting Ready for Primary Day

Photograph of the Vote/Love stencil by dietrich on Flickr

Tomorrow is the Presidential Primary, where registered Democrats and Republicans can select a presidential candidate. Polling places are open between 6AM and 9PM - you can find out where to go by checking with the Board of Elections.

If you're still undecided about a candidate, we direct you to Gotham Gazette's excellent guides - Democratic Candidates on the Issues and Republican Candidate on the Issues - that help elucidate where the candidates stand on certain topics, like urban policy, development, economy, and more.

In NY State, the primaries determine a certain number of delegates for candidates, the remainder being decided by party leaders. From About.com:

How Does the Presidential Primary Nominating for Democrats Work in New York?: 151 of the total 281 delegates are elected proportionally by congressional district. Another 45 delegates are chosen by party leaders, and the remainder are chosen by a state Democratic committee meeting in May. (That's 151 that voters chose and 130 selected by the party.)

Democrats vote for presidential candidates, and also for delegates and alternate delegates who have pledged to support specific candidates. In many parts of Queens (and New York City and state) you'll see choices only for delegates supporting Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama, but you still have a chance to vote for all the presidential candidates.

How Does the Presidential Primary Nominating for Republicans Work in New York?: It's a winner-take-all contest. Based on the state-wide primary results, the candidate with the most votes gets 87 of New York's 101 delegates. The remaining 14 delegates are selected by party leaders.