New York City Voters will be able to Register to Vote Online, but the Process will take more time with a Snail-Mail process.
The Campaign Finance Board’s (CFB) new Web Portal will go Online in July after the Board of Elections (BOE) voted to Add another Step to the Process.
The CFB has to Compile the Registrations made through the Online Portal and provide them to the BOE. The Board Voted on June 11th to further Require those who Register through the Portal be Mailed an Additional Form.
“They’re adding in additional steps that actually make it harder to register to vote than if you were completing a paper form,” said Alex Camarda, a Senior Policy Adviser for Good Government Group Reinvent Albany.
Mayor de Blasio’s Office also slammed the BOE’s Decision. “The Board of Elections continues to prove they have no interest in making voting easy for New Yorkers, especially young people who are engaged online," de Blasio Spokesman Raul Contreras said. “We won’t accept their excuses -- online voter registration must be a seamless and easy process from start to finish.”
Councilman Ben Kallos (D-5th District), who Sponsored the Legislation mandating the Web Portal, said the BOE decided to “disenfranchise voters". “In a city with some of the worst voter turnout in the country, the Board of Elections should be doing everything in its power to make voting easier, not trying to make it harder for new voters,” Kallos said.
Reinvent Albany and Citizens Union are now calling on State Lawmakers to Amend the Law to Circumvent the BOE’s Decision.
“I will continue to push the BOE to do the right thing here and even work with the state legislature to amend the rules so that the BOE is forced to respect and abide by my online voter registration law which passed the council in late 2017." said Kallos.
From a Cybersecurity standpoint, I would make this Process differently.
1. A Citizen would request Online to Register to Vote, creating a Username and Password.
2. Through the Portal, Mailed a Form that they have to send back with their Handwritten Signature. Could this have been done with Scanning an Official Document with the Signature through the Portal?
3. Voter is Mailed a Randomly created Alpha/Numeric Code to be used for Each Election when Voting Online, Mail Voting, or Absentee Voting.
What is your idea for Security for these Voting methods?
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
