Reformer: July/August 2012

Board of Elections Closing Procedures

Following effective advocacy by Citizens Union, the Board of Elections in the City of New York voted on July 17th to change its reporting of unofficial election results on election night so that preliminary results indicating which candidates won or lost would be tallied more accurately and made known to the public more quickly. In question was the Board’s ability to change its reporting system administratively rather than through a change in law. Citizens Union suggested the Board seek a legal opinion from the State Board at its meeting of its Commissioners on July 10th. The opinion was provided days later, clearing the way for the City Board to proceed administratively. Citizens Union also provided a legal analysis to provide further support for administrative action by the City Board. Citizens Union’s advocacy followed our efforts earlier in the spring to get passed legislation introduced by Assemblyman Brian Kavanagh and State Senator Martin Golden that clarified that the City Board could report results through transporting ballot data via portable memory devices to uploaded at centralized locations rather than tallying results using scissors, calculators and manual transcription.

The City Council on Wednesday, August 8th will be holding a public hearing on this issue, at which Citizens Union will testify, both in support of the recent reforms and its package of City election bills which are highlighted below.

CU Package of Election Bills

Citizens Union has crafted and advocated for a package of election-related legislation before the City Council that will improve election administration and enhance voter participation. The package is composed of the following bills:

• Int. No. 613 (Councilmember Dickens) – would require email notifications of election dates, registration deadlines and sample ballots to registered voters who sign up for updates.
• Int. No. 721 (Councilmember Lappin) – would establish a poll worker program that will give incentives to municipal employees to work on Election Day.
• Int. No. 728 (Councilmember Greenfield) – would require voter registration forms to be provided to parents enrolling children in school.
• Int. No. 760 (Councilmember Williams) – would require the City Board of Elections to report for particular city agencies the number of New Yorkers who completed voter registration forms.
• Int. No. 769 (Councilmember Eugene) – would expand the City’s Voter Guide to include more city races and state and federal elections so voters are more informed about all contests on the ballot.
• Int. No. 778 (Councilmember Lander) – would require the City Board of Elections to report data required by the Mayor’s Management Report to the City Council.

Citizens Union has been placing calls and conducting meetings with Councilmembers that has resulted in a majority of Councilmembers co-sponsoring five of the six bills, with as many as 41 of 51 Councilmembers signed on to Int. No. 613. Citizens Union has also obtained memos of support for all the legislation from 16 different organizations including good government groups, civil rights organizations, labor unions, and community groups.

City Districting Commission

The process of drawing the City Council’s 51 district lines began in July with the formation of the City Districting Commission, the appointed body that will do this important work. Significant demographic and population changes have occurred since 2002, the last time the lines were drawn. The Commission, composed of appointees from the Mayor, Council Speaker, and Council Minority Leader and balanced in terms of party and borough representation, held its first meeting on July 17th, at which the chair and staff of the Commission were selected, with Benito Romano as chair and Carl Hum serving as Executive Director. Citizens Union has sent a letter to the commission members calling upon them to strengthen the criteria used to draw the lines and use a level of transparency to its proceedings that will engage New Yorkers in providing input and needed comments. See materials provided at the first meeting for more information, or watch a video of the meeting. The first schedule of public hearings has been set, after which draft maps will be produced. The dates of the public hearings are below.

• Monday, August 13, 5 – 9 pm: Brooklyn Borough Hall, 209 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn
• Thursday, August 16, 5 – 9 pm: New York Law School, 185 W. Broadway, Manhattan
• Monday, August 20, 5 – 9 pm: Staten Island Borough Hall, 10 Richmond Terrace, Staten Island
• Tuesday, August 21, 5 – 9 pm: Queens Library at Flushing, 41-17 Main St, Flushing
• Thursday, August 23, 5 – 9 pm: Lehman College, 250 Bedford Park Blvd West, East Dining Room, Music Building, Bronx

To register to testify at one or more of the public hearings, you can fill out a pre-registration form. If you cannot attend in person, you may also submit written testimony.

Election Updates

Vote on Thursday, September 13th!

The next election taking place in New York State is the Primary Election occurring on Thursday, September 13th for state legislative and judicial races. Please note that the election is occurring on a Thursday, not Tuesday as is the usual practice due to September 11th remembrances.

Registering to Vote

Below are the major deadlines that voters must meet in order to participate in the primary elections. Please note that it is too late to change your party registration in order to participate in a party’s primary if you are not currently registered as a member of that party.

• Registering to Vote by Mail: For new voters who are registering for the first time, voter registration forms must be postmarked by Friday, August 17th and received by the board of elections by August 24th.
• Registering to Vote in Person: New voters may also register in person to vote at their local county board of elections office in person by submitting completed forms no later than Friday, August 17th.
• Changing your Address: If you are already registered to vote in New York State but have recently moved, change of address notification (which can be submitted via the regular registration form) must be received by the board of elections by Friday, August 24th.

If you believe you have correctly registered to vote, but your name does not appear on the rolls at your poll site, you may vote by an affidavit ballot. Ask a poll worker for an affidavit ballot.

Voting by Absentee Ballot

If you are unable to appear at the polls due to: (1) being absent from the county (outside of New York City) or New York City on Election Day; (2) illness or disability; or (3) are detained in jail awaiting Grand Jury action or are confined in prison for an offense other than a felony, you may vote by absentee ballot. Voters must first apply for an absentee ballot. The deadlines for submitting the application are below, as well as the deadlines for mailing back your ballot.

• Mailing your Absentee Ballot Application: The last day to postmark an application or letter of application by mail for an absentee ballot is Thursday, September 6th.
• Applying for an Absentee Ballot in Person: The last day to apply in person at your local county board of elections office for an absentee ballot is Wednesday, September 12th.
• Mailing in your Absentee Ballot: The last day to postmark your absentee ballot is Wednesday, September 12th. It must be received by the local board of elections no later than September 18th.
• Dropping of your Absentee Ballot: If you have a friend or relative who can drop off your absentee ballot for you, it must be delivered on Thursday, September 13th to your local board of elections office.

Finding your Poll Site and Sample Ballot

To find your poll site, you can call or visit the website of your local board of elections office. If you live in New York City, sample ballots will be available near the date of the election through the City Board of Elections’ poll site locator.

Gotham Gazette Highlights

The Gotham Gazette continues to bring readers extensive coverage of important policy debates, from the soda ban to the delayed bike share program. Here are a few highlights from the past few weeks:

Trends Transforming America’s Urban Parks The extraordinary greening of New York City over the past decade is part of – and inspiration for – a nationwide urban parks revival that has been growing over the past two decades. By Anne Schwartz.

Beverage Industry Fight Against Soda Ban Just Beginning If beverage makers and retailers have their way, the Bloomberg administration’s next big idea to limit the size of sugary drinks to no more than 16 ounces won’t have that much fizz. What’s at stake for them is not merely consumer choice but the possibility that the ban will start a national trend. By David Howard King.

MTA Willing to Evaluate Integrated Fares for Subways, Bike Sharing In the near future, subway riders may be able to use their fare cards to check out a bike from hundreds of nearby docking stations. The MTA said it is open to integrating fare payment with the city’s bike share program as it moves toward a wireless, smart card-based system. By Cody Lyon.

Koch, Once Courted by Indian Point, Explains Opposition to Nuclear Plant Ed Koch has joined a growing chorus of advocates and politicians calling for Indian Point Energy Center in Westchester to be shut down, saying the aging nuclear plant poses a danger to the 8 million people who in New York City – especially in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. By Sarah Crean.

Events