Walton, 39, has been trying to press her inherent advantage of being the only candidate on the ballot, and has employed the help of progressive stars in the party, including Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who traveled to Buffalo on the first day of early voting to stump for her. Brown has been aggressive about leaning on labor allies - including the powerful Civil Service Employees Association and the Transport Workers Union of America - to get the stamps to voters. Under New York election law, using such a rubber stamp is legal. Brown’s campaign has purchased tens of thousands of ink stamps bearing the mayor’s name, at a cost of approximately $100,000, and has distributed them to a variety of supporters across the city, according to the candidate. Brown faces numerous logistical challenges, including trying to get voters to correctly mark his name on ballots serious misspellings could disqualify any votes intended for him.
Walton’s is the only name that will be printed on ballots outnumbered in a heavily Democratic town, Republicans are not mounting a candidate nor are any other parties.Īs a write-in candidate, Mr. Brown, who is considered a formidable challenger because of his long presence on the city’s political scene. That lack of unified, institutional support has given hope to Mr.
