Compared to other U.S. States, it is already excessively difficult to Vote in New York State. Many New Yorkers across the State, and across New York City. But many others did not Vote at all on an Election Day marked by Voting Irregularities, Registration Issues, and a bizarrely-timed Memo from the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) instructing Residents to stay home, on Election Day, for a “Lead Inspections”.

All of these Complications are Predictable and Avoidable. In fact, many other States have adapted and/or enacted Measures to avoid them. But not New York State, which has so far Refused to do this. And as-yet untold number of Residents attempting to Vote at Local Polling Places found that they were not on the Voter Rolls. Voters who attempted to Vote but were forced to cast Provisional Ballots.

This latest “Voter Purge,” which follows a similar wipe of mostly People of Color from Voter Registration Databases, is a Feature, not, as the saying goes, a bug, of Existing Election Procedures in New York State. A NYCHA Spokeswoman said the Inspections were “Mistakenly” Scheduled for Election Day and that it “shouldn’t” have happened. But, Coupled with the Registration issues and a History of similar nonsense, many Voters took to Social Media to Question whether it wasn’t Deliberate Voter Suppression.

“People are right to be suspicious about this,” said Jonathan Brater, an Attorney with the Democracy Program at New York University School of Law’s Brennan Center for Justice and a regular Observer of Elections. “We have seen very similar attempts to keep people away from the polling places, misleading mailings about When and Where people are supposed to vote, fliers or billboards that make it seem like people could get in trouble because of outstanding warrants or tickets, a range of things generally known as ‘deceptive Practices,’ meant to make it more difficult for people to vote or scare them away from voting.” “This is a problem in general,” he added. “We need better laws, and we need better enforcement.”

Compared to other U.S. States, it is already Excessively Difficult to Vote in New York State. Unlike other States including California, New Yorkers Cannot Vote by Mail without certain Conditions. They cannot Register to Vote on Election Day, and they also Cannot “Early Vote,” a Process, and a simple one, in which Municipal Buildings like City Hall are Open for Weeks leading up to Election Day.

Any one of these Options would allow Citizens who work Irregular Schedules, can’t take time off Work on Election Day, or receive really Inconvenient Notices from their Landlords, who wield considerable Power over their day-to-Day Lives, to go and Vote. But New Yorkers enjoy none of these, for No appreciable Reason.

And so many People who wanted to cast a Ballot on Primary Day, could not, including 2,387,443 Independents, as New York is a Closed Primary State. Other People, who thought they could Vote in Brooklyn had to go to Manhattan, or vice versa, forced to Travel Long Distances to Vote.

This is the System we have. The System Gov. Andrew Cuomo is Overseeing, and has overseen for a long time. For him, it’s Working just Fine.

If in the November's General Election, the Voters of New York, Replaces the State Senators blocking many Voting Changes Passed by the Assembly, things will change, so all Voters can Vote in our Election system.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker