NEW YORK MINUTE: The calendar has turned to a new state fiscal year, but a budget is yet to be found. State lawmakers are back in Albany to restart the negotiations after a quiet holiday weekend. How quiet? Only staff-level meetings were held; a huddle between Gov. Kathy Hochul, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie didn’t happen. — Nick Reisman SENDING A MESSAGE: Yes, these Democrats are casting blank ballots in today’s presidential primary instead of voting for President Joe Biden. No, that doesn’t mean they want former President Donald Trump to win. The Leave It Blank movement is New York’s iteration of the Uncommitted movement in Michigan and elsewhere protesting Biden over his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. It was boosted in recent days by the left-leaning Working Families Party, a decision that co-director Ana María Archila said was one of its hardest ever to make. “We think the main enemy of Democrats this year is the lack of enthusiasm,” Archila told Playbook. “And in order to address that, we need to remind people that their votes really matter.” Leave It Blank co-founder Brittany Ramos DeBarros considers it momentum. “That represents tens of thousands of New Yorkers across the state who are hearing about Leave It Blank and recognizing that they have an option to use their ballot to send a message,” DeBarros told Playbook. That message? A permanent cease-fire. “I’m concerned that the president’s actions to aid and abet this genocide are going to harm his ability to defeat Trump this November,” Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani told Playbook. The WFP is the most influential among the dozens of groups endorsing the movement. The number of voters pledged to campaign is in the thousands and eight elected officials back it, according to DeBarros. Perhaps the biggest name missing is Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has defended Biden’s successes but also recently said, “If you want to know what an unfolding genocide looks like, open your eyes.” Biden, 81 and a moderate, was already struggling with younger, more progressive voters. The war has been an accelerant, inspiring protests like the one last week as Biden spoke from the stage of a Manhattan fundraiser. Biden’s surrogates say the Democrats are a big tent party. “The president believes making your voice heard and participating in our democracy is fundamental to who we are as Americans,” a Biden campaign spokesperson said. “He shares the goal for an end to the violence and a just, lasting peace in the Middle East.” Biden does have some younger or progressive-leaning elected officials in his corner. “I think he’s working diligently to get a cease-fire in the Gaza region, and he’s working to get humanitarian aid,” Assemblymember Kenny Burgos, a Bronx Democrat, told Playbook. Some — far from casting a blank ballot — will be on the ballot supporting him as delegates. “As unhappy as we may be about certain situations,” Council Member Diana Ayala told Playbook, “why would we want to encourage that type of division in politics?” Leave It Blank’s actual reach isn’t expected to be known until the vote is certified in a few weeks. — Emily Ngo and Shawn Ness HAPPY TUESDAY: Happy Primary Day, New Yorkers. Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
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