Reporters' Notebook: Inside the Polls, the Parties, the Races

The latest word on the New York, New Jersey, Long Island and Westchester races

Sexual Confusion at the Maine Polls

The legalization of same-sex marriage in Maine is a ballot initiative that many New Yorkers are watching. Gay marriage is already legal in Maine, but an opposition group got an item on the ballot called the "citizen's veto." As with so many of these ballot measures, the YES/NO vote is a little confusing. But a yes vote essentially means "Yes, I want to overturn the law legalizing same sex marriage." And a no vote means, "No, don't overturn the law." This is considered a big deal because if voters reject the "citizens veto"-- similar measures could pop up on ballots in other states, including New York and New Jersey. Lawmakers would have the political cover of realizing, hey, if we legalize this, the voters will have final say in the end. - Andrew Siff

The Unglamorous Life of an Independent Candidate

While Corzine and Christie campaign had their rooms set up hours ahead of schedule, Chris Daggett's campaign had to wait for the conference room at the Dolce Hotel in Basking Ridge to clear out.  A company had booked the room until 6pm for a work conference.  That made it difficult for reporters to report live from inside the hotel, but that's just one small difference between the Independent candidate and his larger party rivals . -- Pei-Sze Cheng 

How Nervous Are These Guys Really?

The exit polls say the Jersey governor's race is too close to call. But the Corzine folk sure seem confident.  Corzine's behind-the-scenes top ad visor Tom Shea appeared sublimely confident earlier tonight.  Their internal polls have been showing a 6-point lead for weeks now.  Though admittedly last night that dropped to just 4 points.  Nonetheless, Shea and media guru Brad Lawrence and Corzine's conscience Maggy Moran all say they think they'll end up with somewhere around a 3- or 4-point victory.  Here's a fast fact: Corzine won his 2000 Senate bid by just 3 points over then-Congressman Bob Franks. When Corzine ran for Governor 4 years ago, he beat Doug Forrester by 9 points. -- Brian Thompson

Chris Christie Says No to Photo-Ops

Republican hopeful Chris Christie arrived at the Parsippany Hilton just about 7:30 for his Election Night party. He's opted, according to a campaign spokesperson, not to give the media a standard "photo op", but to watch the results privately with his wife and children in his hotel room.  Already in the ballroom tonight, Tom Kean Jr., son of the former governor and Joe Kyrillos, former state party chair. Whispers of "a long night" echoing through the room, which is slowly beginning to fill up with anxious supporters.  -- Pat Battle

Mike Bloomberg Is in the House but Won't Watch the Results on Camera

Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who has been a ubiquitous man about town whether at the World Series or aboard the USS New York,  has opted out of a traditional photo-op this evening. He has arrived at the Sheraton Hotel on 53rd Street, but will not allow the cameras as he watches the results.  His supporters are already gathered at the Metropolitan Ballroom.  -- Melissa Russo

The Counting Machine Broke

In Essex County tonight, the machine that counts the mail-in ballots broke down.  And then it got fixed. But for a couple of hours, elections officials were wondering if their 8,500 mail-in ballots would hold up the governor's race until they could  all be counted by hand. Such a task could take hours. After all, two recent gubernatorial races in the Garden State were decided by under 3,000 votes(Florio-Kean and Florio-Whitman). But Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin just reassured reporters that his counting machine is up and running now, so maybe we'll know the winner before midnight after all.  -- Brian Thompson

Contact Us