The New York State Board of Elections (BOE) will be on Trial in Federal Court, facing Allegations that Current State Law Violates the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).
The Good Government Group Common Cause New York is Suing the BOE, arguing that State Law makes it too Easy to Remove Names from the List of “Active” Voters used at Poll Sites, which then leads to Voters using Problematic Affidavit Ballots, or becoming Disenfranchised Entirely.
The Names of Registered Voters Removed from the List are Designated “inactive.” There are more than One Million Inactive Voters across New York State, with more than Half a Million in New York City.
The Case stems from an Investigation of the Brooklyn Voter Purge, where the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) Illegally Removed more than 100,000 Voters from the Rolls ahead of the 2016 Presidential Primary. “We came across many voters who weren't purged...but who nonetheless for some reason went to the polling place and found that their name wasn't on the list,” said John Powers, an Attorney with the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which filed the 2016 Voter Purge Lawsuit, also for Common Cause New York, against the NYCBOE.
Powers said this other Group of Voters experienced many Problems and were ultimately Disenfranchised just the Same as Voters who had been Illegal Purged. “We wanted to help them as well,” he said.
One of the Major Issues that Powers and the Lawyers Committee found was Related to another Troubled Agency: the U.S. Postal Service, which just last year Found more than 500 Absentee Ballots Months after the 2017 General Election that it never Delivered to the NYCBOE.
Under State Law, the BOE will Designate a Voter as “Inactive” if the Post Office Returns Mail to the Board as Undeliverable or there is a Question about whether a Voter still Resides at a Specific Address. As soon as the Board sends a Notice asking a Voter whether they still Reside at a given Address, that Voter is Designated as “inactive.” This is Illegal.
The NVRA sets out very Specific Procedures a State must follow before it can Remove a Voter from the Vote Rolls. Either a Voter Notifies the Board in Writing of a Move, or the Voter Fails to Respond to a Notice seeking Confirmation that a Voter is still at a given Address and that Voter Fails to Vote in Two Consecutive Federal Elections. Then the State can Designate them as Inactive. If the Voter does not Vote in Two More Consecutive Federal Elections, they can then be Purged from the Voter Rolls. But the State must Allow them to Voter as a Regular Voter and they should be on the Voter Rolls until they are Purged.
States can Not Remove a Voter just because they think the Person may have Moved. “We found that the postal service was having major problems and alleging that voters had moved when they really hadn't, resulting in them going to the Polling Place and finding that their names had been kicked off the rolls,” Powers explained. Many of these Voters were here in New York City and Disproportionately were Lower Income Voters and Communities of Color.
When the Lawyers Committee wrote a Letter to the BOE notifying them of the Situation, the BOE replied saying this was a Requirement under State Law and the only way to change it would be through Legislation or through the Courts. The Lawyers Committee filed theCcomplaint in September 2017 on behalf of Common Cause New York and its Members. “Voters who have registered, who have voted previously should not be removed from the voter rolls simply because something has happened to a piece of mail,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause New York. “The federal statute really requires more time before somebody can be removed from the active rolls,” she added.
The Bench Trial began Today, before Judge Alison Nathan in the Southern District. The Proceedings are Expected to last several days before Judge Nathan issues a Decision.
The same Problem took place in: Plaintiff, the Kentucky Democratic Party, filed Action seeking a Declaration of Rights and Injunctive relief against the State Board of Elections and Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes, in her Official Capacity as Chief Election Official for the Commonwealth of Kentucky ("Secretary Grimes"). Plaintiff argues that the State Board of Elections has created Two Lists of Voters for the Upcoming November 5th, 2019, Election.
The First List, "the Master Voter List," contains All Registered Voters in Kentucky, other than the Names of voters on the Second List. The Second List, "the separate list," contains the Names of approximately 175,000 Kentucky Inactive Voters.
Plaintiffs Motion for Injunctive Relief was Granted. The State Board of Elections and Secretary Grimes were Ordered to Return All Kentucky Voters to One Master Voter List and Place an Asterisk by the Inactive Names of Voters to Alert Poll Workers to Confirm the Voters' current Address. The State Board of Elections shall also Notify County Clerks and Poll Works to make any Needed Training Corrections.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
