The workers open each ballot’s envelope and go through each ballot to determine whether, for example, a ballot has an extraneous marking that could disqualify it. They also hold up each ballot to the candidates or their representatives — known as watchers — who are intently monitoring the process from six feet away. The ballots are then run through a machine that tallies the votes for each candidate. “This is just a primary: Imagine November with the presidential race and all the Senate and House races,” said Rebecca Katz, a progressive political consultant who serves as an adviser to Mr. Bowman’s campaign. “What’s going to happen to our country?”John Conklin, a spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections, said that the “astronomically high number of absentee ballots” overwhelmed a system built to handle far, far fewer.

Source: New York Times July 17, 2020 09:01 UTC