Hudson Valley Voter's Guide: Presidential Primary

On Tuesday, New Yorkers go to the polls and pick which presidential candidate they want as their party’s candidate.

Find: News of the day and results in the evening here on Patch.

New York's delegates are up for grabs, so the primary is meaningful for the first time in years. So it has been a busy month, as presidential candidates actually campaigned in the Hudson Valley.

"I can't remember the last time New York mattered in a single presidential primary, much less two," said Republican consultant William F.B. O'Reilly.

"The stakes are significant on both sides of the aisle. Bernie Sanders could get a huge momentum boost with a tighter-than-expected run here, and both John Kasich and Ted Cruz may be able to walk away with some delegates in Donald Trump's home state," he said.

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On the Republican side, voters can choose real estate mogul and reality television star Donald J. Trump, Ohio Governor John Kasich or Texas Senator Ted Cruz.

For Democrats, there is former senator and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders from whom to pick.

Two of them have actual Hudson Valley ties. Clinton lives in Chappaqua and Trump owns a house in Bedford.

Writing in Capital Tonight's Morning Memo, reporter Nick Reisman predicted "the likeliest areas to back Sanders will be in the Hudson Valley and around Tompkins County (home to Ithaca) as well as post-industrial cities like Rochester and Syracuse."

And, he added, "The suburban counties are often considered to be the bellwethers in New York politics. Westchester, Suffolk and Nassau counties have been trending Democratic over the last several decades. Still, two out of three county government are led by Republican county executives. If Sanders runs competitively against Clinton in the Westchester-based congressional districts of Reps. Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel that would be an accomplishment in and of itself. Trump, meanwhile, is poised to do well on Long Island, where county leaders have endorsed him and he's raised money for them in recent weeks during the primary campaign."

The New York primary is a closed primary, meaning you have to be registered to vote as either a Republican or a Democrat in order to be able to cast your ballot. The deadline for registering for the primary or changing party affiliation is long past.

(However, you can still register for the congressional and state and local primaries and even for the general election. Deadlines and other information for that can be found here.)

Democrats also have delegates on the ballot, and are asked to vote for five or six delegates to represent their congressional district at the Democratic National Convention, which is in July.

The Graphiq team has put together a visualization profiling each of New York's congressional districts. Learn about each district's population, ethnic breakdown, and average education and income levels.

The delegates' names and genders are on the ballot, as is the candidate each supports.

Polls are open in Westchester, Rockland, Putnam and Orange counties from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., according to the state Board of Elections.

In Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties, the polls are open from noon to 9 p.m.

To find out where your polling place is, just click on your county and it will take you to a page that will allow you to enter your address and, if necessary, other information.

• Dutchess County
• Ulster County
• Orange County
• Sullivan County
• Putnam County
• Rockland County
• Westchester County

Did you have a problem when you tried to vote? If you encounter a problem at the polls for the primary, you should call the state’s special hotline number. Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman established the toll-free number to help troubleshoot and resolve issues voters may be having trying to vote. Any time between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m., you can call 1-800-771-7755 or email civil.rights@ag.ny.gov.

Check back with Patch on Election Night.

Also if you want to follow along as the results come in Tuesday night, you can access the state’s unofficial Election Night Results here. You can narrow the results by Congressional District or County, in addition to Democratic or Republican primary results.

Now get out and vote!