#Ex-NYC residents in the Hamptons could decide LI congressional race

Hundreds of New York City refugees have registered to vote in the Hamptons, where they could help decide the dead heat in eastern Long Island’s congressional race.

Polls show Republican incumbent Rep. Lee Zeldin, 40, neck and neck with rookie Democratic candidate Nancy Goroff, 52, in New York’s 1st district, covering much of Suffolk County.

“I changed my registration to East Hampton because I feel my vote counts for a lot more here,” said a Manhattan lawyer and registered Republican who did not want to be identified. He said he decamped to his East Hampton home during the worst of the coronavirus pandemic and decided to make it his primary residence.

“As long as they have bonafide residences in Suffolk County, they can change their registration,” said veteran election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder. “There are hotly contested local races in the Hamptons where their vote can make a difference.”

In East Hampton Town, 876 New York City residents with a second home there changed their registration to the Hamptons, according to the Suffolk County Board of Elections. The overwhelming majority of the city slickers — 672 — are registered Dems, 77 are Republicans and 110 did not register an affiliation.

In Southampton Town, there are 910 newly registered Democrats, 401 Republicans and 669 unaffiliated, according to county election officials. It is not known how many of those are former New York City residents.

In Manhattan, there are no similarly close congressional races where a few hundred votes can make a difference to the outcome, Goldfeder said.

Jesse Garcia, the chair of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, said that for years “Democrats have been trying to game the system by registering voters” who have second homes in the Hamptons.

“But our voters are seeing what is going on in New York City with de Blasio and the progressives,” Garcia said. “We are pro law enforcement and our voters are smart, regardless of the games the Democrats are playing.”

The third-term Zeldin faces Goroff, who is on leave from her position as chair of the chemistry department at Stony Brook University. In 2018, Zeldin faced a tough race against Perry Gershon, an East Hampton commercial real estate lender, winning by less than 19,000 votes.

The most recent poll shows Zeldin ahead of Goroff 49-48 percent, with 2 percent undecided.

Cate Rogers, chair of the East Hampton Democratic Committee, would not speculate on whether the new registrants could spell victory for Goroff even though most of them are registered Democrats. “It may be the case, but if Nancy wins we would have to weigh in all the factors, not just those who have changed their registration to vote in Suffolk County,” she said.