Marist poll finds 59% believe Cuomo should resign, protests ongoing
NEW YORK (WABC) -- A Marist snap poll conducted Tuesday night shows 59% of New Yorkers -- including 52% of registered Democrats -- believe Governor Andrew Cuomo should resign following the attorney general's report detailing sexual harassment allegations.
If he does not resign, 59% of New Yorkers say he should be impeached, while 32% believe he should serve out the rest of his term.
Some 44% of those polled believe that Cuomo did something illegal, while 29% say he did something unethical but not illegal.
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Just 7% of those polled believe that the governor did nothing wrong.
If not ousted from office, what are the governor's reelection prospects? They're not looking good.
The poll found 11% of New Yorkers, including 12% of registered voters, think Cuomo deserves to be reelected, while 78% say it's time for a new governor.
"The court of public opinion believes the allegations against Governor Cuomo warrant his removal from office," Marist Poll Director Dr. Lee M. Miringoff said. "If he does not resign, nearly six in ten New Yorkers believe he should be impeached. Even if he survives this scandal, his reelection prospects are rock bottom with even his Democratic base deserting him."
Several protests were happening Wednesday, one led by mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa outside the governor's office to demand that Cuomo resign and not prolong the process.
"It's time for Governor Cuomo to resign," Sliwa said. "No more chicanery. No more delay. Justice delayed is justice denied. Cuomo must go now."
Tenant advocates and elected officials were also gathering in front of Cuomo's office to rally for his impeachment and an extension of New York's state eviction moratorium, joined by state lawmakers from the assembly and the senate.
"Anyone who has lied to New York about sexual assaults, sexual harassment, about their handling of the public health crisis is not fit to govern," state Senator Jabari Brisport said. "So if he does not step down or resign, I'm calling for impeaching proceedings to begin."
Only one of New York's 56 governors has been impeached, William Sulzer back in 1913.
"I don't think that he cares about New Yorkers," Assembly member Yuh-Line Niou said. "I think that right now he only cares about Andrew Cuomo, and I think that's really the main thing here."
RELATED | Cuomo sexual harassment investigation: What we know and what's next
Impeachment proceedings begin in the assembly and then move to the senate for a trial, and a guilty verdict would lead to the governor's removal.
Assembly members said they're ready to begin the lengthy process -- and its inevitable outcome -- as soon as Thursday if need be.
"He is going to be impeached, he is going to be removed, the question is when," Assembly member Harvey Epstein said. " If he had any sense about it, he would step aside now instead of forcing us to impeach him."
The lawmakers acknowledge that a drawn out, time consuming impeachment process would be a harmful and costly distraction from the key issues impacting the state's 19 million people, including housing, the economy, and the pandemic, to name a few. That's why they say a governor who cannot govern should immediately step down.
"He has obviously a very busy job under normal circumstances, and in a pandemic on top of that," Assembly member Brian Barnwell said. "To be sidetracked with an impeachment process is obviously not helping New Yorkers."
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