BOE Setting Up New Yorkers to Fail in Nov Early Voting

NEW YORK, NY (05/16/2019) (readMedia)-- Today, Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY, Councilman Ritchie Torres and advocates joined together to demand that the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) stop setting New Yorkers up to fail in November and add more polling sites and boroughwide centers for early voting.

WATCH the press conferene here.

Today's rally comes just hours after the New York Civil Liberties Union, Common Cause/NY and The Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law sent a letter to the Board warning them that their plan for early voting implementation is inadequate, inequitable, and may violate state and federal law. Read the letter here.

Earlier this month, the Board of Elections announced a list of early voting locations in New York City for the November election. There are only 38 announced sites in New York City to serve 5.18 million voters which is entirely inadequate. These sites are placed sporadically throughout the city, out of reach for many disabled voters and communities of color.

Voters will be assigned to certain sites based on their election districts, while centers are open to all voters within their own boroughs.

"The Board of Elections (BOE) is setting up voters to fail in November by trying to sabotage early voting. New Yorkers need between 50-100 voting centers across the city in non-traditional locations, close to transportation, borough-wide, and including city and state facilities, not the bare minimum from an apathetic board. We've fought too hard to let New York vote, we're not about the back down now," said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.

"Nothing is more important to me then the right to vote," said Councilman Ritchie Torres. "Every New Yorker -- and American -- has the right to vote early, easily, and in a system that is unhackable."

"New York passed long-overdue ballot reforms this year, but the city Board of Elections remains stuck in the dark ages. A plan that tells 5.18 million voters they can go to only one of 38 early voting sites sprinkled across the city is a disgrace, particularly for voters of color who live farther from these sites. To add insult, the Board has made its decisions in the dark, without explanation or public review. The Board's early voting roll-out is not only a breach of voters' trust, but possibly federal and state Election Law. Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and we demand a fair and accessible vote," said Donna Lieberman, Executive Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU).

Today's letter warns that offering 5.18 million voters only 38 early voting sites spread across the city and requiring they cast ballots only at their one assigned site imposes a severe burden on many low-income voters – particularly for those who work long or inflexible hours and face transportation challenges, who are disproportionately New Yorkers of color.

The letter also suggests that the Board may not be fulfilling its transparency obligations. The Board has not announced how the sites were selected, how it assessed the adequacy of those sites, or why voters should not be permitted to cast ballots at any early voting site, consistent with state law. The letter requests the Board disclose to the groups all records related to its decision-making and planning for early voting implementation, pursuant to the state Freedom of Information Law.

Advocates also argued the lack of early voting poll sites is a strategy for the NYCBOE to ultimately purchase expensive, unnecessary voting machines from ES&S.

In late March, the NYCBOE sent a letter to the state BOE asking to circumvent the normal approval process to purchase the ExpressvoteXL, claiming it needed them to comply with the new early voting law in November, and that using paper ballots would be "virtually impossible." In response, Councilman Torres and Common Cause/NY stood together in April to demand that the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) stop trying to purchase unnecessary and expensive voting machines from ES&S. Shortly thereafter the state denied the city's request.

These machines are relatively untested and raise serious security concerns, among other objections. Instead, the Board should be looking into ballot on demand printers which are proven, secure, cost-effective, and efficient. Paper ballots are the standard in the 37 states that already have early voting. Counties across the nation, including Los Angeles County (5.3 million registered voters), Denton County, TX (503,487 registered voters), Cuyahoga County, OH (Cleveland - 877,000 registered voters), Maricopa County, AZ (Phoenix - 2.3 million registered voters) and all the counties in Maryland and New Mexico, utilize paper ballots, often with ballot on demand systems to hold down costs and waste. The Board's request is also complicated by the fact that Executive Director Mike Ryan previously concealed a relationship with the company that makes the ExpressvoteXL, only disclosing it after being exposed by news reports. Shortly after, the state BOE rejected the city board's request to bypass the process, but that doesn't mean the city won't still try to get approval for these machines.

"The Asian American and new American voting population face obstacles at the polls such as language access, being denied interpreter services, and unfair treatment by poll workers. Early voting is a step in the right direction to ensure our voices are heard and our votes count. However the proposal to place early voting locations in only 38 locations across New York City suggests that the Board of Elections has no interest in increasing participation from Asian American and other immigrant voters. The suggested locations avoid key immigrant areas in Queens, such as Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Bayside, Ozone Park. In Manhattan, there is only one proposed site south of 59th Street. The Board of Elections must reevaluate this incompetent plan and implement an early voting plan that truly serves all New Yorkers," said Jonathan Chung, Civic Engagement Associate at MinKwon Center for Community Action.

"We live in a state that consistently ranks near the bottom in voter turnout, caused largely by a host of obstacles that make participatory democracy tougher for many voters. Early voting is a historic opportunity to remove obstacles to participating in our democracy. We are disappointed by the decision of the NYC BOE to designate a minimal number of sites and not include boroughwide voting centers in their plan. These decisions will perpetuate the barriers that early voting is seeking to break down," said Melody Lopez, Director NY Civic Engagement Table.

"CPC is highly critical of NYC Board of Elections proposed Early Voting sites. We are disappointed in the incredibly low number of sites, their distribution, and we are alarmed that there a zero borough-wide voting sites. As the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) electorate grows and as this session's voting reforms open more doors for New Yorkers to register and make their voices heard, CPC is concerned that Early Voting in its current design will not even reach the voters who stand to benefit the most,"said Amy Torres, Director of Policy & Advocacy at CPC (Chinese-American Planning Council). "In CPC's non-partisan voter engagement work with low-income, immigrant, and AAPI communities, we meet many would-be voters for whom poll hours and site locations are a primary hurdle -- particularly for working voters and those who are caregivers, aging, or living with disabilities, limited mobility, or within transit deserts. For these reasons, CPC remains skeptical of any plan that does not bring Early Voting sites directly to these voters and urges BOE to add additional sites that are reallocated to high traffic areas."

"We're seriously disappointed by the NYC Board of Election's failure to meaningfully support early voting and accessible participation in our democracy, especially for New York's immigrant and working class communities. Their list of approved early voting polling sites is a mere fraction of the locations necessary to maximize voter turnout. Worse yet, the BOE has excluded immigrant-rich neighborhoods in their polling sites, suppressing the voices of immigrants in our elections. NYC BOE has both the resources and the responsibility to dramatically expand early voting sites throughout the five boroughs," said Paul Westrick, Manager of Democracy Policy at the New York Immigration Coalition.

"Brooklyn voters are hopeful that the recent and historic changes to New York's voting laws, including 9 days of Early Voting, will help more New Yorkers exercise their fundamental right to vote. Early Voting is a well-established voting practice that, when implemented properly, has been shown to increase voter access, improve the voting experience and make voting more convenient. The NYC Board of Elections has a real opportunity to make voting easier and more accessible for NYC voters. The Board must designate a sufficient number of accessible and convenient Early Voting polling locations to serve Brooklyn's nearly 1.5 million voters; ensure voters receive clear information about Early Voting dates, polling locations and hours of operation; and employ suitable, secure technology staffed by well-trained poll workers to realize the promise of this important voting reform. Brooklyn Voters Alliance urges the NYC Board of Elections to use the resources at its disposal and make sure Brooklyn and all NYC voters get better and more equitable access to voting that well-implemented Early Voting provides," said Joan Strasbaugh of the Brooklyn Voters Alliance.

Background:

Common Cause/NY has argued that the proposed machines and vendor raise serious concerns about:

• Ballot efficiency and security
  • The ExpressvoteXL does not produce a truly verifiable paper ballot. A voter must make their selection on a touchscreen, and the device then prints out a paper ballot summary (not a full ballot) of the voter's selections with a barcode that contains the voter's selections. There's no way for a human eye to discern if the barcode corresponds to their candidate choices. A paper ballot is the only truly secure method that can then be audited if/when necessary. The ExpressvoteXL has also only been used once in a small, local election in a single borough in Gloucester County, NJ recording only 1010 votes. It is irresponsible to trial this system on the millions of voters in New York City.
• Cost
  • The ExpressVote XL is the most expensive voting machine on the market: $8,250 plus $250 for a 14-hour battery. Most voting machines are $4,000-5,000.
• Conflicts of Interest
  • Last year, Mike Ryan, Executive Director of NYCBOE, failed to disclose that he sat on the advisory board for ES&S and accepted all expenses paid trips from them.
  • In January, the New York State legislature passed - and Governor Cuomo signed into law - early voting, which gives voters 9 days before Election Day to vote.

Posted Thursday May 16, 2019 at 01:35 pm by Common Cause of New York
Last Updated Thursday May 23, 2019 at 01:46 pm