A Federal Judge has Ruled that New York must provide Local Poll Workers with the Names of, 1,971,543 New Yorkers as of Feb. 21st, 2020, who are Registered to Vote but are considered Inactive by the State.

New York, like other States, can Label a Voter who Appears to have Moved or did Not Vote in Two Federal Election Cycles, Inactive. Currently Voters labeled Inactive can Cast a Provisional Ballot, called an Affidavit Ballot, that will be Counted once the State Verifies the Voter hasn't Moved. But Government Reform Group, Common Cause, says many Poll Workers are Not familiar with that Process, and the Result is many Inactive Voters struggle to Vote or are Prevented from Voting.

The Group argued in a 2017 Lawsuit that Errors made by the Postal Service and other Registries can Lead to Voters being wrongly declared Inactive. The Lawsuit claimed Tens of Thousands of New York Voters were Improperly Labeled Inactive even though they still Live at the Addresses where they’re Registered.

The Suit sought a Court Order to Ensure the State does Not Infringe on the Fundamental Right to Vote by Improperly Labeling Voters as Inactive. It asked the Courts to Ensure Voters labeled Improperly as Inactive were Restored to Active Status.

U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan’s Jan. 10th Decision found New York’s Refusal to Provide Lists of Inactive Voters at Polling Locations Violates the Equal Protection Clause under the U.S. Constitution. The Judge also Found that the State Violated the Right to Vote of Three Voters who were Improperly Labeled as Inactive.

But the Judge did Not find the State Violated the Constitutional Voting Rights of Inactive Voters required to Cast Affidavit Ballots. And the Judge Didn’t Issue a Plan to Require that the State Board of Elections ensures All Registered Voters can Vote even if they’re deemed Inactive.

Still, Common Cause New York Executive Director, Susan Lerner, said the Judge’s Decision “shines a light” on the Process that New York uses to Label some Voters as Inactive. She said she hopes Lawmakers will look at such Issues this year.

For now, she said the Judge’s Decision means that Poll Workers at 2020 Elections will have Easy Access to a List of Inactive Voters. “For the poll workers, this is so much easier,” she said. “Right now what happens when someone isn’t on the active list, poll workers often don’t know what to do. They get confused, they send people to different places and they send people away. This simplifies it.”

New York State had Argued that Providing a List of Inactive Voters could “bog down the voting process,” according to the Judge’s Decision. A Spokesman for the State Board of Elections said Attorneys are Reviewing the Decision. “By leaving the affidavit ballot process in place, the judge chose the least disruptive remedy possible,” Spokesman John Conklin said. “At this time, we expect to be complying with the order.”

At today's Board of Elections Meeting, the Polls will get a List of Inactive Voters, Voter's on the List will get an Affidavit Ballot that the must Sign indicating they Live at the Address on File. But the Board did Not explain the Process to make the Voter Active or Notifying the Voter there Status has been Change to Active. Now that Polls used E-Books, the List needs to be stored in the E-Book, not on a Printed List.

If an Inactive Voter Fails to Vote in Two more Federal Election Cycles, the State will Cancel the Voter's Registration.










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker