Next Tuesday from noon to 9 p.m., New Yorkers will go to the polls to vote in Democratic, Republican and Conservative primaries.
For the first time, nearly all voters will cast their ballots on new machines -- in this area, Dominion ImageCast optical scanners.
"In a way, we're going back in time, to when people always used paper ballots," Harriet Jenkins, Chenango County's Republican elections commissioner, noted Wednesday.
After decades of using mechanical voting machines, voters will fill out paper ballots -- akin to multiple choice tests -- then feed them into scanners, which will automatically tabulate results.
Jenkins said results in her county will not be telephoned in from polling stations but delivered by car to the county's Board of Elections, then posted on the Internet.
"It may be a little slower than last year, but we hope it goes smoothly," she said.
Republicans
Among races are Republican primaries for governor, lieutenant governor and the state's two U.S. Senate seats, now held by Democrats Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Running for Schumer's seat, in an election to determine who holds the office for the next six years, are Gary Berntsen, a retired CIA agent from Smithtown, Long Island, and Jay Townsend, a businessman from Cornwall on Hudson.
Three Republicans -- Joseph J. DioGuardi, David Malpass and Bruce Blakeman -- are vying for the GOP nomination to run against Gillibrand, who was appointed to the Senate in 2009 to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton.
DioGuardi, who lives in Westchester County, is a CPA and former U.S. representative.
Malpass is an economist, former federal deputy assistant secretary of state and deputy assistant secretary to the Treasury.
Blakeman is a former member of the Board of Commissioners of Port Authority and a former candidate for New York City mayor.
Republicans also will chose nominees for governor, selecting either former Long Island Rep. Rick A. Lazio or Buffalo native and multimillionaire businessman Carl P. Paladino. The winner will run against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has secured the Democratic nomination.
For lieutenant governor, GOP primary voters will select either Gregory J. Edwards, a two-term executive of Chautauqua County who is running with Lazio, or Thomas V. Ognibene, Paladino's running mate and a former candidate for New York City mayor.
The winner will take on Cuomo's running mate, Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy.
Democrats
Democrats across the state will select nominees for a U.S. Senate seat and for attorney general.
Gillibrand, a former 20th Congressional District representative, is running to hold her Senate seat against New York City lawyer Gail Goode. Whoever wins this office in November will have to run again in 2012, when Clinton's term expires, to earn a full term.
Five Democrats -- Richard L. Brodskey, Eric T. Schneiderman, Sean Coffey, Eric R.Dinallo and Kathleen M. Rice -- are vying to succeed Cuomo as attorney general. Brodsky is an assembly member from Westchester County; Schneiderman is a New Year senator from New York City; Coffey is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District; Dinallo is a former state assistant attorney general and state insurance superintendent; and Rice is Nassau County district attorney.
The winner of the Democratic primary will face Republican Dan Donovan, Richmond County district attorney.
Conservatives
Conservatives will select a nominee for governor -- Lazio or West Seneca lawyer Ralph C. Lorigo.
Conservatives in the 111th Assembly District will have a chance to choose an Assembly candidate -- either businessman Shawn Skeele of DeRuyter or a write-in candidate. Republican Rick Bargabos is seeking to win as a write-in candidate. The seat is held by Democrat Bill Magee of Nelson, who is seeking re-election.
