How Did Putnam Valley Vote?
You probably think you know already, but the batch of certified election data released last week by the Putnam County Board of Elections reveals some interesting tidbits.
Let's start with the trivia item that always seems to surprise people: There continue to be more registered Democrats in Putnam Valley than registered Republicans. Not by a lot, mind you - just 200 more. But there are nearly as many voters who aren't registered for any party and the evidence suggests they lean more Republican than Democrat.
Once again, Putnam Valley turned out strongly in favor of all the Republican candidates on the ticket, from top to bottom. Of the 6,833 people who voted for the next president, 2,934 chose Kamala Harris and 3,801 chose Donald J. Trump. Trump garnered 433 more votes this year than he did in the 2020 election. Harris received 24 fewer votes than President Joe Biden did in the 2020 election.
The town's turnout this year, at 79%, was higher than in the previous two presidential elections. In fact, Putnam Valley's turnout was the second-highest in the county, following Philipstown, which, true to form, voted for Democrats up and down the ticket.
In the heavily contested race between Congressman Mike Lawler and former Representative Mondaire Jones, Lawler gained 967 more votes in this year's election than he did in 2022, while Jones picked up 662 more votes than his predecessor, Sean Patrick Maloney. Even if the 173 votes that went to the Working Families Party's disavowed candidate Anthony Frascone were added to Jones' tally, it wouldn't have been enough to overcome Lawler's lead.
Party affiliation seemed to have less impact on the election results for Proposition 1. As a reminder, that proposal expanded the language for the state's Equal Rights Amendment to offer protection against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The proposal became especially controversial when some organizations construed it as a way for males to compete in girls' and women's sports.
The proposition passed in the state by a vote of 4.7 million to 2.8 million. In Putnam Valley, although Harris won just 43% of the vote for president, Proposition 1 earned support from 46% of the town's voters.
If you want to see how your neighborhood voted but are unsure which of Putnam Valley's ten election districts you are in, you can check out the map below and then review the numbers on the Board of Election's website.
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