Mayor DeBlasio (a Clinton supporter for the record) has expressed concern today about massive voter purges in New York, and specifically in New York City.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is demanding an explanation from the city’s Board of Elections after the purge of registered Democrats in Brooklyn has doubled from 63,000 to 126,000.
...Kings County, where Brooklyn is located, has seen a 7 percent drop in the number of registered Democratic voters between November 2015 and April 2016. But a new investigation by WNYC has revealed that the New York City Board of Elections actually purged 126,000 voters in that time period — a 14 percent drop in 5 months. Now, Mayor de Blasio is demanding to know why there was such a precipitous drop in registered voters just before the primary.
“This number surprises me,” de Blasio told WNYC. “I admit that Brooklyn has had a lot of transient population – that’s obvious. Lot of people moving in, lot of people moving out. That might account for some of it. But I’m confused since so many people have moved in, that the number would move that much in the negative direction.”
Kings County was just one of seven counties, out of a total of 63, where the number of registered Democrats fell, while registration increased in all other 56 counties. This is particularly odd, since Brooklyn — the home of Bernie Sanders, as well as the home of Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters — is a hotbed of political activity.
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UPDATE: Other News sources for this story:
Other sources fro De Blasio issue with voter purge:
WYNC: www.wnyc.org/...
NY Post (with different numbers cited as to purged voters): nypost.com/...
The Gothamist: gothamist.com/...
Another diarist at Daily Kos: www.dailykos.com/...
The following information is provided should you experience tropuble voting in the NY primary today:
Phone Numbers to Call if You Experience Problems with being allowed to vote in NY today:
UPDATE: Received message from a Clinton supporter that there is no specific NY State Clinton campaign voter hotline number. However, you can call the -
CLINTON NATIONAL CAMPAIGN VOTER HOTLINE: (844) 464-4455
SANDERS CAMPAIGN VOTER HOTLINE: 347-379-4298 (For mobile devices: 3473794298)
U.S. Attorney voter complaint hotlines:
For Manhattan, Bronx,Dutchess, Orange & Putnam counties: 212-637-0840
For Sullivan, Rockland & Westchester counties: 212-637-0840
For Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, Nassau and Suffolk counties: (718) 254-6323.
New York Elections Office -- Phone: (518) 474-6220
NY Attorney General: 800-771-7755
FBI - reports of election law violations: (212) 384-1000
NYC Phone # to check voting status: 1.866.VOTE-NYC (1.866.868.3692)
Links to check out voter registration status:
NYSVoter Public Information - Voter Registration Search
Phone numbers and info for your local Board of Elections: Use this link
Print page showing your Voter Info or take a screenshot and bring with you to your polling place.
Court Orders
You have right to seek a court order from a state judge if you are denied the right to vote.
NYPIRG — COURT ORDERS TO VOTE
NYS a voter who encountered problems at a poll site can go in front of a judge to seek a court order directing poll workers to allow them to vote on a machine at their site. Some votersprefer a Court Order because they don’t want to vote on a paper/affidavit ballot.
Why would a voter seek a court order? Perhaps their name does not appear in the poll site book, or they had a problem with a voting machine that causes them to think they lost their vote. Some voters may have registered at the DMV or other state office and not have had their names forwarded in time, or their last name could have been improperly entered and wasn’t found on Election Day. Other votersmay have entered the booth and pulled the large lever back and forth, casting a ‘blank’ vote beforethey made any choices. It is a voter’s right to go before a judge to explain their own ‘problem’ and toseek a court order to allow them to go back to their site and vote on the machine.
In New York City, Judges are available at the following locations:
The Bronx
Bronx County Board of Elections 1780 Grand Concourse 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Brooklyn
Kings County Board of Elections 345 Adams Street Fourth Floor 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Lower Manhattan
New York County Board of Elections 200 Varick Street 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Harlem
State Office Building 163 West 125th Street Eighth Floor 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Queens
Queens County Board of Elections 126-06 Queens Boulevard 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Staten Island Richmond County Board of Elections 1 Edgewater Plaza 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.
In all other counties demand the poll worker call the local Board of Elections so you can obtain court order, or call local Board of Elections office to find where Judge will be located to hear your appeal.
Advice (via NYS Board of Elections Employee) on steps to take if you are not allowed to vote because your name doesn’t show up in the poll book as a registered Democrat:
Make sure poll workers call the local board of elections to verify why you aren't in the poll books. All boards should scan all the documents they receive with your name on it, even if your records aren't complete. You have every right to see each document they have, because it's public information. They should check to make sure they didn't make a mistake, and will usually be very helpful in giving you all your options.
Poll workers are required to show you a "notice to voters." This document tells you that you have two options: affidavit ballot or court order. It is my opinion that you seek a court order. Is this going to be extra work? Yes. If you're unsure about your voter status, give yourself plenty of time to vote.
If you seek a court order, you will be required to meet with the local State Supreme Court Judge on call, and the Board of Elections. Many of these judges are very liberal in their rulings, often side with the voter. You will then be issued a document that you can bring to the polling place that allows you to cast your ballot INTO THE MACHINE.
If you choose the option to vote by affidavit ballot, you will be directed to a station within the polling place dedicated to this process. You will then be required to fill out what is essentially a registration form. TAKE YOUR TIME FILLING THIS OUT. It will be scrutinized by Election commissioners of both parties after the election. Your registration and party enrollment will be checked, and voted on by each commissioner to determine if the envelope should be opened and ballot counted. It only takes one NO vote to negate your affidavit ballot, so this should be used only as a last resort.
Election Justice Lawsuit and what it means for your right to vote
A lawsuit was filed Monday in Long Island federal court by the group Election Justice USA, on behalf of numerous New York voters who allege “that their voter registration changed without their input, costing them the ability to vote in Tuesday's primary.
"The Board of Elections, not voters, holds the voting records and should be responsible to prove a voter’s ineligibility, rather than putting this burden on the voter. As it is currently structured, the statute places an onerous and excessive burden on the voter to prove their eligibility," said Blaire Fellows, one of the New York attorneys filing the suit. "It requires securing a court order, which takes time that many New Yorkers simply don’t have, as it means loss of income over and above what they lose by simply taking time off to vote."
The other procedure available to voters with irregular registration records is to vote at a polling site using a provisional ballot, wherein one explains the nature of the irregularity, for commissioners to consider when they're counting votes. This process, the lawsuit says, is the product of "one of the nation's most opaque and oppressive voter laws."
The suit asks for the state to preserve all provisional ballots and create a hearing process where voters can explain irregularities, adding a layer of due process, where currently, lawyers argue, the ballots are "discarded by the Board of Elections in a closed room." What the lawsuit calls "purges," its authors argue, disproportionately affect ... African-American, and Hispanic voters, as have previous electoral manipulations in the state's history. The legal filing, which shows signs of being assembled in extreme haste, also cites the just-reported decline of registered Democrats in Brooklyn by 63,500, voters it also calls "purged."
Election Justice filed an emergency 9 am court hearing to deal with voter registration changes in NY State that were potentially disenfranchising to a huge number of voters in New York City.
Election Justice USA recommends that if you believe your registration was switched and you are really a Democrat, vote on affidavit and sign section asserting that you are. They also made the following statement:
"We are encouraging all independent and disenfranchised voters to VOTE tomorrow by provisional ballot," Nelson said. "They should tell poll workers that there is a motion pending in Federal District Court to declare the Primary open, and they are casting their vote in the expectation of a favorable ruling by the judge tomorrow." (Shyla Nelson, spokeswoman EJUSA)
Again, only vote with an AFFIDAVIT BALLOT as a last resort.
Thank you