By Hadassa Kalatizadeh
Thousands of New Yorkers who were previously Republicans or independents have recently re-enrolled as Democrats, so as to be able to vote for the Democratic mayoral primary which will be held in June. As reported by the NY Post, some 15,000 New Yorkers switched or re-enrolled as Democrats recently, anticipating the party’s all-important primary, which may determine who the next New York City mayor will be.
In the city where the blue wave dominates, a group named Be Counted NYC has spent millions of dollars to persuade independents and Republicans to re-enroll as Democrats so that they can have more a say in the mayoral election. The group holds that a Republican candidate won’t stand a chance of winning the general election, so in essence, the Dem’s primary will decide the winner. By adding more moderates and conservatives into that pool of registered voters, the group hopes to affect the outcome of a close primary race, and prevent a candidate way to the left from being elected.
The city Board of Elections, related that 7,156 New York City voters switched to the Democratic Party between Jan. 2 and Feb. 4, 2021. Of those who switched, 2,426 were formerly registered as Republicans and 4,730 were formerly registered as “blank” or unaffiliated. The ‘Be Counted NYC’ group, however, maintains that the total tally will be much higher and that roughly 15,000 have switched over or enrolled as Democrats. “We are seeing a tremendous amount of momentum behind our effort to get people registered to vote in the Democratic primary, including a surge last week in a single day when thousands of voters returned their voter registration by mail,” said Be Counted NYC founder, founder, Lisa Blau, who is a wellness brand financier. Her husband is Jeff Blau, the CEO of Related Companies, a major real estate developer in NYC.
Since December, the group has been making phone calls, text massages, and mailing letters to Republicans and unregistered voters trying to persuade them to enroll as Democrats so as to vote in the June 22 Democratic primary. The deadline to enroll is Feb. 14.
Former Gov. George Pataki joined other Republican leaders who criticized the effort. “Don’t give in to those who say Republicans can’t win in New York,” said the former three-term GOP NYC Governor. “How did Bloomberg win? How did Rudy Giuliani win. How did I win,” he added.
NYC currently has 3,748,026 registered Democrats, and only 568,732 registered Republicans, with another 1,075,189 enrolled as “blank” or unaffiliated voters, as per the state Board of Elections.
