.svg) | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
 Results by county Clinton: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% Sanders: 50-60% 60-70% 70-80% | |||||||||||||||||||
The2016 New York Democratic presidential primary was held on April 19 in the U.S. state ofNew York as one of theDemocratic Party's primaries ahead of the2016 presidential election. Hillary Clinton, who had previously represented New York in theUnited States Senate from 2001 to 2009, won a comfortable majority in both the popular vote and delegate count over Bernie Sanders, who was born inBrooklyn.
TheRepublican Party also held their ownNew York primary on the same day. Apart from that, no other primaries were scheduled for that day by either party.
The week before the primary, Sanders drew large crowds to campaign events in New York City: 28,000 heard Sanders speak in Brooklyn the weekend before the primary and 27,000 heard him speak inManhattan the week before.[2] Clinton drew "appreciative crowds of respectable size" but did not approach the attendance of Sanders events.[2]
In early April, ahead of the primary, former PresidentBill Clinton visitedwestern New York twice for campaign events, speaking at an event inDepew (attended by almost a thousand people) and addressing a room of activists and volunteers at Clinton'sBuffalo campaign office.[3]
In total, the Sanders campaign spent about $2 million more than the Clinton campaign on television ads in New York.[4] In terms of campaign-expenditures per vote, Sanders' campaign spent about $9.03 per vote, while Clinton's campaign spent about $3.62 per vote.[5]
A ninth debate was held on April 14, 2016, in Brooklyn, New York at the Duggal Greenhouse inBrooklyn Navy Yard. The debate was aired on CNN andNY1.[6] Wolf Blitzer of CNN served as moderator.[7]
TheNew York Times reported the day after the primary:
The Democratic vote was marred by major irregularities at polling places acrossBrooklyn. Thecity comptroller's office announced that theBoard of Elections had confirmed that more than 200,000 Democratic voters in Brooklyn were dropped between November and this month, while about 63,000 were added – a net loss that was not explained. MayorBill de Blasio described 'the purging of entire buildings and blocks of voters,' while the comptroller,Scott Stringer, said his office would audit the Board of Elections.[4]
The Brooklyn voter purge disproportionately affected Hispanic voters, and mostly voters between the ages of 30 and 80, and happened at similar rates in election districts where Clinton won and where Sanders won.[8] Although 121,056 people voted with provisional ballots in New York City, the board threw out nearly 91,000 "either because their names were taken off the rolls or because their party affiliation had been dropped or switched to a different party without their knowing."[9]
In November 2016, several groups sued the New York City Board of Elections over the voter roll purge. Initial parties to the lawsuit included "Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, Latino Justice/PRLDEF and Dechert LLP on behalf of Common Cause New York and several individual plaintiffs. In early 2017, both the Justice Department and New York State Attorney General's office made motions to join the lawsuit."[10] In October 2017 WNYC reported that, pending court approval to the consent decree, that the New York State Board of Elections agreed to a settlement with parties to the lawsuit against them, admitting to illegally purging over 200,000 eligible voters from New York City voter rolls.
As a part of the settlement, the Board agreed to a series of remedial measures that will be in place at least through the next presidential election, November 2020 – pending court approval. The deal restores the rights of improperly purged voters and establishes a comprehensive plan to prevent illegal voter purges in future elections.[10]
| List of polls | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Polls in 2015
Polls in 2013
|
| New York Democratic primary, April 19, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Hillary Clinton | 1,133,980 | 57.54% | 139 | 41 | 180 |
| Bernie Sanders | 820,056 | 41.62% | 108 | 0 | 108 |
| Void | 11,306 | 0.57% | |||
| Blank votes | 5,358 | 0.27% | |||
| Uncommitted | — | 0 | 3 | 3 | |
| Total | 1,970,900 | 100% | 247 | 44 | 291 |
| Source:[34][35] | |||||
| County[36] | Clinton | % | Sanders | % | BVS | Totals | Turnout | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albany | 19,914 | 47.74% | 21,798 | 52.26%[37] | 354 | 42,066 | 47.47% | -4.48% |
| Allegany | 847 | 40.62% | 1,209 | 57.99% | 29 | 2,085 | 35.53% | -17.36% |
| Bronx | 105,719 | 68.76% | 46,189 | 30.04% | 1,834 | 153,742 | 31.31% | 38.72% |
| Broome | 7,641 | 43.11% | 9,951 | 56.15% | 131 | 17,723 | 43.40% | -13.03% |
| Cattaraugus | 1,844 | 42.28% | 2,481 | 56.89% | 36 | 4,361 | 29.93% | -14.61% |
| Cayuga | 2,592 | 47.65% | 2,805 | 51.56% | 43 | 5,440 | 36.89% | -3.92% |
| Chautauqua | 3,865 | 46.09% | 4,431 | 52.84% | 90 | 8,386 | 32.68% | -6.75% |
| Chemung | 2,740 | 49.43% | 2,752 | 49.65% | 51 | 5,543 | 35.91% | -0.22% |
| Chenango | 1,062 | 39.23% | 1,613 | 59.59% | 32 | 2,707 | 37.60% | -20.35% |
| Clinton | 1,774 | 26.76% | 4,797 | 72.35% | 59 | 6,630 | 39.37% | -45.60% |
| Columbia | 3,039 | 45.14% | 3,660 | 54.37% | 33 | 6,732 | 51.64% | -9.22% |
| Cortland | 1,515 | 41.90% | 2,037 | 56.33% | 64 | 3,616 | 42.80% | -14.44% |
| Delaware | 1,172 | 38.96% | 1,813 | 60.27% | 23 | 3,008 | 41.70% | -21.31% |
| Dutchess | 11,701 | 48.37% | 12,395 | 51.23% | 97 | 24,193 | 41.70% | -2.87% |
| Erie | 54,279 | 50.40% | 52,473 | 48.72% | 955 | 107,707 | 38.91% | 1.68% |
| Essex | 838 | 27.90% | 2,145 | 71.40% | 21 | 3,004 | 47.40% | -43.51% |
| Franklin | 1,076 | 29.74% | 2,512 | 69.43% | 30 | 3,618 | 37.59% | -39.69% |
| Fulton | 1,010 | 40.16% | 1,475 | 58.65% | 30 | 2,515 | 32.80% | -18.49% |
| Genesee | 1,393 | 45.66% | 1,622 | 53.16% | 36 | 3,051 | 33.66% | -7.51% |
| Greene | 1,195 | 42.82% | 1,566 | 56.11% | 30 | 2,791 | 40.29% | -13.29% |
| Hamilton | 141 | 35.97% | 245 | 62.50% | 6 | 392 | 44.70% | -26.53% |
| Herkimer | 1,507 | 44.01% | 1,873 | 54.70% | 44 | 3,424 | 34.22% | -10.69% |
| Jefferson | 2,579 | 48.80% | 2,656 | 50.26% | 50 | 5,285 | 34.96% | -1.46% |
| Kings (Brooklyn) | 183,662 | 59.07% | 123,872 | 39.84% | 3,372 | 310,906 | 36.42% | 19.23% |
| Lewis | 492 | 40.53% | 703 | 57.91% | 19 | 1,214 | 28.88% | -17.38% |
| Livingston | 1,685 | 39.86% | 2,516 | 59.52% | 26 | 4,227 | 42.23% | -19.66% |
| Madison | 2,039 | 44.12% | 2,528 | 54.71% | 54 | 4,621 | 41.82% | -10.58% |
| Monroe | 39,310 | 51.60% | 36,490 | 47.90% | 380 | 76,180 | 43.85% | 3.70% |
| Montgomery | 1,298 | 42.31% | 1,732 | 56.45% | 38 | 3,068 | 33.64% | -14.15% |
| Nassau | 74,870 | 62.14% | 44,731 | 37.13% | 884 | 120,485 | 32.59% | 25.01% |
| New York (Manhattan) | 190,806 | 65.42% | 98,194 | 33.67% | 2,656 | 291,656 | 47.20% | 31.75% |
| Niagara | 8,202 | 46.48% | 9,294 | 52.67% | 149 | 17,645 | 34.09% | -6.19% |
| Oneida | 6,586 | 45.21% | 7,739 | 53.12% | 243 | 14,568 | 33.81% | -7.91% |
| Onondaga | 21,786 | 52.90% | 19,186 | 46.59% | 212 | 41,184 | 41.40% | 6.31% |
| Ontario | 4,040 | 47.31% | 4,445 | 52.05% | 55 | 8,540 | 43.88% | -4.74% |
| Orange | 12,855 | 51.14% | 12,077 | 48.04% | 206 | 25,138 | 33.12% | 3.09% |
| Orleans | 725 | 43.36% | 923 | 55.20% | 24 | 1,672 | 31.43% | -11.84% |
| Oswego | 2,631 | 43.98% | 3,273 | 54.71% | 78 | 5,982 | 35.11% | -10.73% |
| Otsego | 1,995 | 40.72% | 2,868 | 58.54% | 36 | 4,899 | 47.17% | -17.82% |
| Putnam | 3,718 | 49.00% | 3,832 | 50.50% | 38 | 7,588 | 42.73% | -1.50% |
| Queens | 133,210 | 61.32% | 81,782 | 37.64% | 2,272 | 217,244 | 32.15% | 23.68% |
| Rensselaer | 5,068 | 41.76% | 7,003 | 57.70% | 66 | 12,137 | 43.14% | -15.94% |
| Richmond (Staten Island) | 17,612 | 52.40% | 15,471 | 46.03% | 530 | 33,613 | 28.17% | 6.37% |
| Rockland | 17,868 | 59.78% | 11,790 | 39.44% | 233 | 29,891 | 35.11% | 20.33% |
| St. Lawrence | 3,142 | 44.04% | 4,425 | 57.87% | 53 | 7,646 | 35.72% | −16.78% |
| Saratoga | 7,672 | 44.04% | 9,694 | 55.65% | 104 | 17,419 | 45.81% | −11.61% |
| Schenectady | 6,526 | 47.05% | 7,241 | 52.20% | 15 | 13,871 | 40.12% | −5.15% |
| Schoharie | 706 | 36.45% | 1,216 | 62.78% | 8 | 1,937 | 40.93% | −26.33% |
| Schuyler | 548 | 38.27% | 876 | 61.17% | 12 | 1,432 | 44.27% | −22.91% |
| Seneca | 1,125 | 47.19% | 1,247 | 52.31% | 79 | 2,384 | 40.18% | −5.12% |
| Steuben | 2,149 | 41.86% | 2,926 | 56.99% | 59 | 5,134 | 36.61% | −15.13% |
| Suffolk | 53,420 | 54.80% | 44,033 | 45.14% | 25 | 97,478 | 32.07% | 9.63% |
| Sullivan | 2,369 | 44.12% | 2,958 | 55.09% | 42 | 5,369 | 31.84% | −10.97% |
| Tioga | 1,318 | 40.12% | 1,936 | 58.93% | 31 | 3,285 | 41.14% | -18.81% |
| Tompkins | 6,138 | 37.60% | 10,130 | 62.06% | 56 | 16,324 | 63.40% | -24.45% |
| Ulster | 7,642 | 37.90% | 12,435 | 61.68% | 84 | 20,161 | 50.70% | -23.77% |
| Warren | 1,868 | 39.21% | 2,871 | 60.26% | 25 | 4,764 | 46.75% | -21.05% |
| Washington | 1,292 | 36.08% | 2,274 | 63.50% | 15 | 3,581 | 41.49% | -27.42% |
| Wayne | 1,988 | 44.56% | 2,436 | 54.61% | 37 | 4,461 | 34.17% | -10.04% |
| Westchester | 74,900 | 66.87% | 36,753 | 32.81% | 354 | 112,007 | 42.45% | 34.06% |
| Wyoming | 639 | 39.89% | 958 | 59.80% | 5 | 1,602 | 30.12% | -19.91% |
| Yates | 637 | 46.46% | 720 | 52.52% | 14 | 1,371 | 42.98% | -6.05% |
| Total | 1,133,980 | 57.54% | 820,256 | 41.62% | 16,667 | 1,970,703 | 37.41% | 15.93% |
Note: New York State is a closed primary state, meaning the turnout is based on active enrolled democrats by county on April 1, 2016. Blank, void, and scattering votes (BVS) are only for blank and void, since there was not other candidate on the ballot or the ability to write-in.
| 2016 Democratic primary | Manhattan | The Bronx | Brooklyn | Queens | Staten Island | Total |
| Hillary Clinton | 190,806 | 105,719 | 183,662 | 133,210 | 17,612 | 631,009 |
| 64.42% | 68.76% | 59.07% | 61.32% | 52.40% | 62.65% | |
| Bernie Sanders | 98,194 | 46,189 | 123,872 | 81,762 | 15,471 | 365,488 |
| 33.67% | 30.04% | 39.84% | 37.64% | 46.03% | 36.29% | |
| Blank, Void | 2,656 | 1,834 | 3,372 | 2,272 | 530 | 10,664 |
| 1.91% | 1.2% | 1.09% | 1.04% | 1.57% | 1.06% | |
| TOTAL | 291,656 | 153,742 | 310,906 | 217,244 | 33,613 | 1,007,161 |
| TURNOUT | 47.20% | 31.31% | 36.42% | 32.15% | 28.17% | 36.52% |
Clinton won a 16-point victory in her home state.Exit polls showed that Sanders wonamong voters age 18–29 in the Empire State, capturing 65% of this demographic, while Clinton won every other age group, performing better witholder groups (53% of voters ages 30–44, 63% of voters aged 45–54, and 73% of voters aged 65 and over).[38] Clinton tied men with Sanders 50-50, but won a 63–37 landslide among women (both married and unmarried). The candidates split thewhite vote 50–50, but Clinton won theAfrican American vote 75–25 and theHispanic/Latino vote 64–36. Clinton swept all income levels/socioeconomic statuses and educational attainment levels in her home state.
In terms of political ideology, Clinton won 62–38 amongDemocrats while Sanders won 72–28 amongIndependents, who were 14% of the electorate. Clinton won both liberals and moderate/conservative voters. She won amongunion households 58–42, and won both married and unmarried voters. In terms of religious affiliation, Clinton wonProtestants 65–35,Catholics 62–38, and also won theJewish vote by a 2 to 1 margin after Sanders caused controversy by criticizingIsrael.[39] Sanders won agnostic/atheist voters 57–43. While Clinton won voters who saidWall Street does more to help the economy, Sanders won among those who said it hurts the economy.[40]
Clinton performed very well onLong Island and in thefive boroughs of New York City, particularly inManhattan,Queens andthe Bronx; she also won handily inBrooklyn andStaten Island.[4] Clinton ran up big margins in New York City neighborhoods likeHarlem, where the percentage of African American voters was highest. Sanders did better in rural, whiterupstate New York counties, with Clinton winningBuffalo,Syracuse, andRochester while Sanders won inAlbany.[38][4] Sanders also performed well in theHudson Valley, with a high concentration of liberals and college students.[4]
After winning her home state convincingly, Clinton told supporters, "New Yorkers, you've always had my back and I've always tried to have yours [...] Today together we did it again and I am deeply, deeply grateful."[41]
Following his primary, a Manhattan attorney filed suit, seeking atemporary restraining order to block certification of the presidential primary election byNew York City Board of Elections and the state elections board based on his argument that New York'sclosed primary system violated thestate Constitution. This argument was rejected by theNew York Supreme Court (the statetrial court).[42]
