The Democrat trying to unseat longtime Republican State Sen. Kenneth LaValle has filed legal papers alleging LaValle receives an illegal campaign benefit from the Stony Brook University football stadium that bears his name.

Gregory-John Fischer filed a notice of claim — a precursor to a lawsuit — in State Supreme Court in Riverhead claiming the university named the stadium for LaValle after he secured $22 million in state funds for the venue’s construction.

Fischer also said the stadium gives LaValle an unfair advantage over those who run against him.

“It is ludicrous for sitting legislators (seeking re-election or otherwise) to have public structures named for them for the de facto benefit of their personal political careers,” Fischer said in the...| read more ››

Suffolk County’s August voter registration figures show that Democrats have a 9,755 edge in voter enrollment over Republicans countywide, up from 5,923 voters in January.

Both parties have experienced growth since the start of the year. Democrats are up from 298,268 voters to 307,409 party members. Republicans have climbed from 292,345 to 297,654.

However, Republican Election Commissioner Nick LaLota sees a silver lining in recent registration figures, saying that 3,014 Democratic voters have abandoned their party since January to join the GOP ranks, while only 1,535 Republicans have switched to become Democrats.

Meanwhile, the number of voters who are not registered in any party also has risen from 240,412 to 246,851 since the beginning of the year. Of those unaligned...| read more ››

PHILADELPHIA — Hillary Clinton is now officially the Democratic presidential nominee, making history as the first woman ever to secure the backing of a major American political party.

Clinton was formally nominated on the second evening of the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, more than nine years after launching her first presidential bid. It was largely an evening of unity after an opening night marked by resistance from die-hard supporters of Democratic runner-up, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In a culmination of days' worth of efforts to unify the party, Sanders himself moved at the conclusion of the lengthy state-by-state roll call vote — after Clinton had won a majority of delegates but before her formal nomination was announced to the...| read more ››

Voters go to the polls Tuesday to choose Democrats who will vie this fall for three congressional seats representing Long Island — including in two of the most competitive districts in the region.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the 1st District, 3rd District and 5th District Democratic primaries.

The 3rd District primary — prompted by the surprise retirement of Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) — includes five candidates. Stretching along the North Shore from Eastern Queens through Nassau County and into western Suffolk County, the district has 194,508 registered Democrats.

Four of the candidates are based in Nassau, which has the largest share of registered voters, with 50 percent: Former Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, 53,...| read more ››