New York's 4th congressional district elections, 2012
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| November 6, 2012 |
| June 26, 2012 |
Carolyn McCarthy  |
Carolyn McCarthy |
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Carolyn McCarthy was re-elected on November 6, 2012.[1]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
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Primary: New York had a closed primary system, meaning only registered members of a particular party could vote in that party's primary.
Voter registration: Voters had to register to vote in the primary by June 1. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 12, or October 26 in person.[2]
- See also: New York elections, 2012
Incumbent: The incumbent was Carolyn McCarthy (D), who was first elected to the House in 1996.
This was the first election using new district maps based on 2010 Census data. New York's 4th congressional district was located in the eastern portion of the state and included Nassau county.[3]
Fusion voting
New York was one of eight states that had "electoral fusion" -- which allowed more than one political party to support a common candidate. This created a situation where one candidate appeared multiple times on the same ballot, for the same position. Electoral fusion was once widespread across the United States, but as of 2012, was commonly practiced only in New York.
Opponents of fusion voting argued that the process resulted in dealmarking to ensure that patronage was rampant.[4] Proponents maintained that fusion voting allowed for minor parties to actually make a difference during the election and allowed voters the opportunity to vote for a minority party platform but still affect the general election result.[5]
Candidates that appeared in the general election are listed below with colored dots corresponding to any party they represented on the ballot.
Candidates
Note: Election results were added on election night as races were called. Vote totals will be added when official election results are certified. For more information about Ballotpedia's election coverage plan, click here. If you find any errors in this list, please email: Geoff Pallay.
General election candidates
June 26, 2012 primary results
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Election Results
General Election
| U.S. House, New York, District 4 General Election, 2012 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic |  Carolyn McCarthy Incumbent |
54.7% | 163,955 | |
| Republican | Francis Becker Jr. | 28.6% | 85,693 | |
| Conservative | Frank Scaturro | 5.2% | 15,603 | |
| N/A | Blank/Void/Scattering | 11.4% | 34,233 | |
| Total Votes | 299,484 | |||
| Source: New York State Board of Elections "U.S. House of Representatives Results" | ||||
Impact of redistricting
- See also: Redistricting in New York
Following the results of the 2010 Census, New York lost two congressional seats, bringing its total number of representatives down from 29 to 27. Under the new map, the 4th district had become less favorable toward incumbent Carolyn McCarthy.
According to a report in the Washington Post political blog "The Fix," New York was one of the top 10 redistricting battles in the nation.[9]
The 4th district was re-drawn after the 2010 Census. The new district was composed of the following percentages of voters of the old congressional districts.[10][11]
- 21 percent from the 3rd congressional district
- 79 percent from the 4th congressional district
Registration statistics
As of October 29, 2012, District 4 had the following partisan registration breakdown according to the New York State Board of Elections:
| New York Congressional District 4[12] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District | District Total | Democrats | Republicans | Other & Unaffiliated | Advantage | Party Advantage | Change in Advantage from 2010 |
| District 4 | 380,041 | 189,627 | 168,191 | 22,223 | Democratic | 12.75% | -10.06% |
| "Party advantage" is the percentage gap between the two major parties in registered voters. "Change in advantage" is the spread in difference of party advantage between 2010 and 2012 based on the congressional district number only. | |||||||
District partisanship
FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012 study
- See also: FairVote's Monopoly Politics 2012
In 2012, FairVote did a study on partisanship in the congressional districts, giving each a percentage ranking (D/R) based on the new 2012 maps and comparing that to the old 2010 maps. New York's 4th District became more balanced because of redistricting.[13]
- 2012: 52D / 48R
- 2010: 55D / 45R
Cook Political Report's PVI
In 2012, Cook Political Report released its updated figures on the Partisan Voter Index, which measured each congressional district's partisanship relative to the rest of the country. New York's 4th congressional district had a PVI of D+3, which was the 167th most Democratic district in the country. In 2008, this district was won by Barack Obama (D), 54-46 percent over John McCain (R). In 2004, John Kerry (D) won the district 54-46 percent over George W. Bush (R).[14]
District history
2010
On November 2, 2010, Carolyn McCarthy was re-elected to the United States House for an eighth term. She defeated Francis X. Becker, Jr. (R) who also ran on the Conservative Party and Independence Party tickets).[15]
| U.S. House, New York Congressional District 4 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Carolyn McCarthy Incumbent |
53.6% | 94,483 | |
| Republican | Francis X. Becker, Jr. | 46.4% | 81,718 | |
| Blank/Scattering | 0% | 52 | ||
| Total Votes | 176,253 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2012
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2012
- United States Senate elections in New York, 2012
References
- ↑ York ABC News "2012 General Election Results"
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections "Voting Deadline Page," Accessed June 30, 2012
- ↑ New York Redistricting Map "Map" Accessed August 31, 2012
- ↑ Electoral fusion ruins elections
- ↑ Working Family Party: Fusion voting
- ↑ Garden City, NY Patch "Frank Scaturro's Starting Early with Fundraising," Accessed December 22, 2011
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 New York Board of Elections "List of Filings for June 26, 2012 Federal Primary," Accessed May 30, 2012
- ↑ New York Elections "2012 Candidate List"
- ↑ Washington Post, "The Fix," "Redistricting battles hit a fever pitch," June 3, 2011
- ↑ Moonshadow Mobile's CensusViewer "New York's congressional districts 2001-2011 comparison"
- ↑ Labels & Lists "VoterMapping software voter counts"
- ↑ New York State Board of Elections, "District Active Enrollment 2012," April, 2012
- ↑ "2011 Redistricting and 2012 Elections in New York," September 2012
- ↑ Cook Political Report "Partisan Voting Index Districts of the 113th Congress: 2004 & 2008" Accessed October 2012
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010"
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