Write-in candidates struggle for relevance

Daily Point

Suffolk has new voting machines, but write-in candidates still face astronomical odds

Write-in campaigns for elected office in Suffolk County are in vogue this year, with several attempts by third-party candidates to get on the November ballot already successful on Long Island and more third-party write-in efforts underway.

There are at least two write-in campaigns for Suffolk County clerk after the Democratic candidate withdrew from the race by accepting the Conservative Party endorsement for a judgeship, a political move that angered some Democrats and spurred the write-in efforts.

One group of progressives is still working through their process but initially named former Assemb. Christine Pellegrino as their top choice for county clerk. Southold Town Democratic Party chair Kathryn Casey Quigley, who is challenging county chair Rich Schaffer for his leadership post on Tuesday, announced earlier this week that her folks have selected Abigail Field as their write-in for county clerk.

Field ran unsuccessfully last year for Southold Town clerk, losing 57%-43% in a year when Democrats beat Republicans in almost every contested town election.

Then there's the Facebook write-in campaign backing Jerry Larsen, the current mayor of East Hampton Village, in a bid for East Hampton Town supervisor. Larsen lost a primary for the Democratic Party line against Supervisor Kathee Burke-Gonzalez in June, all but ensuring her reelection in November since East Hampton Republicans have as much juice as Hawaiian Punch.

Larsen told The Point he isn't actively campaigning and had nothing to do with the write-in campaign. The last time he posted on social media about the election was July 6.

He said there are residents "actively putting up signs and recruiting people" for a write-in campaign. "I think it's a really nice thing that they're doing, but I think it's a really tough, tough win."

But if he wakes up after Election Day and finds himself in the winner's circle, he wouldn't decline the seat.

A write-in campaign for public office, even under the most gratuitous circumstances, is an extraordinarily difficult endeavor because the candidate has to beat both major political party candidates and their teams of volunteers and cash. Plus, a candidate has to convince voters to take the time to physically write their name. Then there's the issue of legal challenges to write-in ballots that are illegible or have spelling variations of the names.

And there's even another consideration this year: How will the rollout of Suffolk's new touch-screen voting machines impact write-ins?

It's a lot to take in for regular folks who just want to do their civic duty and move on with their lives.

Online tutorials showing how Suffolk's new machines work indicate clear boxes for write-in candidates. The machines were first used countywide in the June primary. So, it doesn't seem like there should be any hindrances to casting a write-in ballot compared with the time when voters would use a marker and write a name on the paper ballot.

"Back then, it was almost impossible to win a write-in campaign," longtime Republican political consultant Michael Dawidziak told The Point. "You had to actually write their name at an angle in these little slots."

Even with social media and old-fashioned spunk, write-in candidates for countywide seats face astronomical odds.

"You would have to get [voters] interested enough, committed enough, to write in someone's name, and you have to educate them on how to do it," Dawidziak said. "In a general election, nobody is getting enough write-in votes to win."

Still, "I'm never one to say never," Dawidziak said. "I'm not going to say it's impossible."

If any of Suffolk's write-in candidates do somehow defy the odds and win ... well, then that would be something to write home about.

— Mark Nolan mark.nolan@newsday.com

Pencil Point

Per-fed fit

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Reference Point

Railroad crossings stuck for decades

It was a notable week for Long Island 85 years ago.

"This week the New York State Department of Public Works blocked off Clinton Rd., Garden City, just north of Roosevelt Field, and started the elimination of the Long Island Rail Road grade crossing between Old Country Rd. and Westbury Ave.," wrote Newsday's editorial board on Sept. 17, 1941, under the headline "Eliminate the Pearly Gates."

This particular crossing, part of the LIRR's Main Line, had a "long and evil record of accidents and deaths." The board praised that the project was rushed through with unusual speed but pointed out that this only happened because the area was a key access point to Mitchel Field and Roosevelt Field, so it was a "vital" part of Nassau County's World War II national defense effort.

"Newsday can't help wondering why it takes a World War, implicit with a threat to the security of the entire United States, to get a dangerous grade crossing eliminated," the board chided. That aside, the grade crossing elimination on the Main Line was set to bring systemwide benefits, like speeding up run times, and made a watchman at the crossing unnecessary.

With 125 more grade crossings that needed elimination in 1941, the LIRR still had a long way to go. "This is only one crossing," the board wrote. "Elimination of the others still continues at its accustomed snail pace — and people continue to be injured and killed at dangerous crossings."

A big factor that sped up this project was the funding source: constructing the bridge and approaches wouldn't "cost the Long Island Rail Road a nickel" since it was financed in full by a state bond.

Today, the LIRR still has 282 crossings where railroad tracks intersect with roads, even after eight were eliminated between 2019 and 2021 as part of the construction of the Third Track on the Main Line. Funding continues to be the challenge to fixing these grade level crossings, but over the summer, the LIRR did secure a $7.5 million federal grant to eliminate three more Main Line crossings where more than 63,000 vehicles pass through daily. Before the Third Track project, the LIRR was able to remove just two grade crossings in the 20 years prior.

This week in 1941, the editorial board predicted this would be a long-running problem.

"Newsday applauds the speed with which the Clinton Rd. Crossing is being eliminated. But it does not applaud the apparent fact that a World War is necessary to get that kind of speed."

— Amanda Fiscina-Wells amanda.fiscina-wells@newsday.com

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