Dear Editor,
General elections are on Tuesday November 4 in several states in USA for Governor and state legislatures as well as for city mayor and local legislatures and for other offices. National elections in USA are usually held in even years for Congress and or for the Presidency – every two years for the House, four years for President, and six years for the Senate. Elections are being held in New York City (for mayor and other citywide offices and for 51 City Council seats), New Jersey (Governor and statewide races), Virginia (Governor and statewide races), among others.
Significant numbers of Guyanese Americans reside in those areas holding elections; there are more Guyanese in NY and New Jersey than in Virginia with large numbers of Guyanese also settled in other states like Florida, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Texas, Georgia, etc. The election races are very tight in NY, NJ, and Virginia and can go either way. Guyanese are urged to vote as their ballot could help determine the winner.
Guyanese in Guyana, around the USA and other parts of the diaspora are paying close attention to the NYC Mayoral election. The world is also paying attention. It is the first time an immigrant, an Indian American, a Muslim, is on the cusp of becoming Mayor of the largest and most popular city in America. President Trump has been campaigning nationally on media and social media against the Democratic candidate who he has labeled as a socialist.
Indian American Zoran Mamdani (Democrat Party nominee) is leading in the poll, closely followed by former NYS Governor Andrew Cuomo (running as an Independent after being defeated by Mamdani in the Democratic primary for the nomination last June) and Curtis Sliwa (Republican). Madani is the grandson of Girmitya immigrants from India who, like Indo Caribbean people, were sent by the British to work in Uganda; some prominent Guyanese are campaigning for him. His parents migrated and settled in USA from Uganda. His mother, a Hindu, is a well- known filmmaker. His father, a Muslim, is a Professor in NYC. Mamdani has been raised as a Muslim. Mamdani was leading by double digits in several polls until a couple of weeks ago. Latest poll numbers over the weekend show Cuomo closing the gap with Mandani after a sleuth of attack ads (calling him a communist) and endorsements from prominent politicians; tens of millions of dollars have been spent over the last couple weeks in attacks ads on Mamdani. The incumbent Eric Adams, abandoned his campaign as an independent, and has been campaigning for and with Cuomo. Several Republican leaders are urging Republican party voters to abandon Sliwa and vote for Cuomo. Guyanese are divided with some going with Mamdani and others Cuomo. A small number of Guyanese are backing Sliwa.
Some 600,000 already cast ballots in early voting. That is the highest number in the history of early voting for that position. Early voting ended Sunday. Election day is Tuesday – fixed first Tuesday of November of every year unless it is on the first of the Monday in which case election is held on second Tuesday in November. If one did not already vote, then he or she can vote on Tuesday. Most Americans vote on election day.
Those Guyanese backing Mamdani are confident he will win. Those opposed to him hope Cuomo wins. City Council races are also being held.
Voting in Guyana and USA are slightly different. Paper ballots are used. But after bubbling in circles next to names or propositions, (at times on both sides of the ballots), the large screen sized ballots are scanned by the voter in a machine and aggregated.
On Election night after 9:00 PM, when balloting closes (other states end voting earlier), the machines are open and aggregated numbers for each candidate in every position and for propositions (referendum) are revealed for each polling station. The winner is generally known a few hours later when all the numbers are reported to the central election body and tabulated.
Guyanese are generally not very active in American politics, not as volunteers, not as donors, and not as voters. However, in this election, some have been active in the campaign for all three candidates. They also show a strong interest to vote in NYC. If they don’t vote, others will make the decision on who should be mayor. They are urged to vote in all of the election contests around America.