REPORT: Impact of New York's "Wrong Church" Ballot Disqualification Rule in the 2020 General Election

NEW YORK, NY (05/24/2021) (readMedia)-- Today, VoteEarlyNY released a report that reveals that more than 13,800 registered New Yorkers who voted at poll sites in their county had their ballots fully disqualified. The reason is what's known as the "wrong church problem," in which a person is directed to vote provisionally by affidavit ballot when appearing at a different poll site from the one assigned, instead of being directed by poll workers to their assigned poll site, as the law requires. The NYS Senate passed a bill last week to fix this. The Assembly has yet to vote on the bill.

Highlights from the report:

• Across New York State, more than 13,800 ballots were disqualified in the 2020 General Election because of the "wrong church" technicality, the largest source of disqualified affidavit ballots cast by duly registered voters. As set out in Appendix A, statewide, over 50% of all disqualified affidavit ballots cast by registered voters were rejected on the basis of "wrong church."
• The impact of the "wrong church" rule overburdens voters in population-dense counties. The 15 most population-dense counties in the state accounted for 13,008 disqualifications, or over 94% of the "wrong church" disqualifications statewide.
• A disproportionately large majority of rejected "wrong church" ballots-nearly 69% or 9,481 lost votes-were cast by registered New York City voters, who make up less than 42% of all state voters.
• Of the five boroughs, the Bronx saw a disproportionate number of "wrong church" disqualifications: Approximately one for every 187 voters in the borough.
• More voters had their ballots disqualified for voting at an unassigned polling place in each of Assembly Districts 79 in the Bronx and 24 in Queens, than in all of Staten Island.
• On Election Day in 2020, over 4,000 registered voters outside of New York City cast an affidavit ballot at an unassigned polling place. Over 3,500 of these ballots were cast in the ten most population-dense counties outside of New York City.
• Voters in the top 20 impacted NYC Assembly Districts had nearly as many ballots disqualified for wrong church (4,278) as residents in all 57 counties outside NYC (4,348).

Many states, like California, New Jersey, Utah, New Mexico, Massachusetts and even notoriously anti-democratic Georgia, have rules that count the eligible votes on at least some ballots cast at unassigned poll sites. But under New York's election law, these ballots are fully disqualified, even for the statewide contests that all voters may participate in like U.S. President, Senator, or Governor; as well as offices these voters are usually eligible to vote for, like their Member of Congress, county- or citywide officials, and state legislators.

"The 2020 data confirms what has been reported anecdotally for years;" said VoteEarlyNY Co-Founder and Voting Rights Counsel Jarret Berg, "That each election thousands of legitimate voters have their ballots tossed and their right to vote fully and needlessly frustrated by this technicality. But we now have evidence of the disproportionate impact this has on New York's most densely populated counties and several majority-minority communities in New York City. This is injustice. Modern safeguards can improve due process and significantly reduce the disenfranchisement of eligible voters, ensuring more accurate election results."

In response, lawmakers have introduced legislation to fix the status quo which punishes legitimate voters. That bill would ensure that voters will still have their ballots counted for all the offices or ballot questions they are entitled to vote for, so long as they turn out at a poll site in their county. The current law already requires poll workers to affirmatively advise the voter of the correct polling place for their residence, and new electronic poll book technology makes it very easy to share that information with voters. But as the data makes clear, thousands of eligible voters are still falling through the cracks. If enacted, all contests a voter is eligible to participate in based on their actual address would count, even if the ballot is physically cast at a different poll site in their county.

"Our laws must always stand on the side of the voters, and should provide every opportunity for a valid vote to be counted. Eligible voters who cast their ballots in the wrong polling place, but who otherwise are qualified, should not be penalized simply because they came to the wrong place on election day. It's time we eliminate the most common reason for disqualifying affidavit ballots, and I'm proud to sponsor this legislation," said Senator Zellnor Myrie.

"Every eligible voter who casts a ballot should be certain that their vote will be counted. Currently in New York, voters who cast an affidavit ballot at a poll site other than the one they're assigned are disenfranchised, even if they're voting in the correct county. This amounted to nearly 14,000 voters being disenfranchised in the 2020 general election. My bill, A.642-A, would provide a simple fix to allow for all affidavit ballots cast in the correct county to count in the races the voter is entitled to vote in, whether the ballot is cast at the voter's assigned poll site or not. This is a common sense fix that will help ensure that the rights of thousands of voters are protected," said Assemblyman Robert Carroll.

"As a conservative movement attempts to further disenfranchise voters – particularly voters of more color in urban areas – New York must work to make it easier, not harder, to have ballots counted and voices heard. We should not be penalizing voters who are mistaken about their polling site, we should be further engaging and educating them – and if votes are provisionally cast at incorrect sites, we should work to fix the problem, not deny the right to vote," said Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

This remedy is not difficult or costly for election officials to implement. Several states have an easy-to-apply system for counting the eligible votes on ballots cast elsewhere. There is no increased risk of foul play-provisional affidavit ballots are never scanned during voting hours. Before being canvassed, officials cross-reference in-person voters and those who recently moved to prevent duplicates.

"As we stated last year, Voter Disenfranchisement doesn't just happen in the South, it happens in the South Bronx. The same anger you have about voting injustice from Georgia to Florida, you should have from Claremont to Concourse Village. The Vote Early NY report clearly proves that No Assembly District in New York State was hurt more by these unjust Affidavit Ballot rules than the 79th in The Bronx. Massive voting rights and Affidavit Ballot overhaul is necessary so that New Yorkers can exercise their right to vote and participate in our Democracy. If we tell Bronxites and New Yorkers that you are welcome to praise at any church and any pew, you should have been able to vote at any poll site as long as you are registered," Michael Blake, Former New York State Assembly Member (2014-2020) & Former Vice Chair, Democratic National Committee

"Wherever possible we should reform NY Election law to allow voters to have their vote counted. In many cases voters who are at the wrong polling site have virtually the same ballot and we can easily count the races they are eligible to vote in. We also have the technology available to reduce this issue by using electronic poll books at every polling site and investing in ballot on demand to move towards vote center models on Election Day as well as Early Voting periods," said Dustin Czarny, Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner.

"As a Commissioner it is disheartening to see any ballot rendered invalid during the canvass but what is particularly frustrating is that we are required to invalidate ballots that could be otherwise counted. I applaud the work of Vote Early NY in compiling this data and amplifying this issue. As the State takes great leaps in rectifying legislation that previously existed to exclude voter participation, it is very much a worthy endeavor to evaluate the affidavit process and give Boards the ability to canvass votes cast in good faith by voters at the polls," said Ashley Dittus, Ulster county BOE Commissioner.

"NY State's 'wrong church' ballot disqualification rule represents a significant barrier for New York voters. The fact that so many eligible voters were disqualified from voting in the critical 2020 general election proves the intense need for reform, particularly in New York City and other population-dense counties where 94% of disqualifications occurred. We applaud VoteEarlyNY for their leadership on this issue," said Laura Wood, New York City's Chief Democracy Officer.

"The remnants of New York's antiquated voting laws not only denied the right to have their votes counted for over 13,000 registered voters, it also might have swayed the outcomes of races across on the state and the federal level. We can't allow this to happen again. We must protect the votes of New Yorkers who so desperately want to be part of determining the future of our state and our nation, that they came out to vote in person, said Jan Combopiano, Senior Policy Director and Executive Committee member, Brooklyn Voters Alliance. We can have increased access to the ballot, fairness and integrity in counting the votes, and a stronger democracy if we update our laws to match our ambition to be a leader in voting rights."

About VoteEarlyNY

VoteEarlyNY is a nonpartisan nonprofit created by voting rights advocates to educate and inform the public about New York's voting laws and ensure that much-needed election reforms are implemented responsibly and made accessible to all New York voters. VoteEarlyNY provides rights-based civic education and is working to build a culture of Early Voting among the public that empowers communities, reducing dependence on partisan campaigns and administrators for basic information about our civil rights.

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Website: VoteEarlyNY.org