Everybody on the ballot

The first ballot is in for the attorney general race at the N.Y. State Democratic Convention.

With about 36 percent of the vote, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice is the frontrunner, and will be on the primary ballot.

Riverdale’s state Sen. Eric Schneiderman is in second place, though his 27.5 percent of the vote has earned him a place on the ballot as well. The third place candidate, Westchester Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, garnered 26..9 percent and will also be guaranteed a spot on the primary ballot.

In an ordinary year, that would be the end. But this year the state’s Dems have decided to make room on the ballot for all five candidates, including Sean Coffey and Eric DiNallo, to be on the ballot.

That means that when New York’s registered Democrats go to the polls this primary season, they will have five choices instead of just two. And it means that a candidate who did not earn a lot of votes from delegates here at the convention could still be elected, if enough voters rally around him.

Delegates are now going through round two of voting, so that all five delegates will have a chance to earn 25 percent of the vote and thus rightfully gain a place on the ballot.

Though the process is an arduous one for the delegates, it is the best for New Yorkers. It ensures that the people will have the chance to choose their candidates, instead of having a candidate selected for them at a convention.

— Aliza Appelbaum