2024 Presidential Vote
Looking through Tuesday’s election data, it is clear that Tompkins County, home to Cornell, is the bluest of the blue in a state that showed a higher-than-expected Republican turnout. We are living in a political bubble that does not align with New York State or the rest of the nation, and Tuesday’s vote brought that reality home.
For President and Vice President:
| Candidates | Tompkins County | State Wide |
| Harris / Walz | 72.65 % 32,181 | 54.63 % 4,330,770 |
| Trump / Vance | 24.68 % 10,934 | 43.27 % 3,429,918 |
For US Senator, the same trend continued:
| Senate Candidates | Tompkins County | State Wide |
| Kirsten E. Gillibrand | 72.44 % 32,089 | 55.81 % 4,424,796 |
| Michael D. Sapraicone | 23.40 % 10,363 | 39.30 % 3,115,837 |
Professor William Jacobson criticized Proposition 1, for introducing unclear language into the NY State Constitution regarding discrimination being allowed if a law is “designed” to address discrimination. Others claimed that Proposition 1 was needed to guarantee women’s reproductive freedom.
| Proposition 1 | Tompkins County | State Wide |
| Yes | 71.33 % 31,540 | 56.59 % 4,478,058 |
| No | 22.36 % 9,888 | 34.93 % 2,763,919 |
| Blank | 6.29 % 2,783 | 8.44 % 667,957 |
Because voting on Proposition 1 required the voter to turnover the ballot, the low rate of blank votes shows that Tompkins County voters are more politically engaged on this issue than other parts of New York State.
For the Congressional seat, Tompkins County has been gerrymandered into the western edge of a district that extends to the Connecticut border. Democrat Josh Riley narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Marcus Molinaro. However, Molinaro has signaled he will not concede the race until the rest of the absentee ballots are counted.
| U.S. House 19th District | Tompkins County | District Wide |
| Josh Riley | 72.15 % 31,958 | 49.01 % 180,764 |
| Marcus Molinaro | 24.93 % 11,043 | 47.96 % 176,904 |
Tompkins County provided Riley with a 20,000 vote advantage, more than his margin of victory.
In the 52nd State Senate District, Tompkins County also provided incumbent Democrat Lea Webb with her margin of victory over Republican Michael J. Sigler. Webb gained a 19,071 margin from Tompkins County, with her district-wide margin of victory being 19,050.
In the 125th State Assembly seat, incumbent Anna Kelles faced a write-in challenge from Lindsay Lustick Garner. The district consists of Tompkins County and the corner of Cortland County that holds the City of Cortland. Of the 1,100 total write-in votes cast, all but 62 were from Tompkins County.
