As Problems Persist, City Council to Examine Board of Elections

Samar Khurshid

On Tuesday, April 19, thousands of New Yorkers cried foul about how the city was running the state’s most consequential presidential primary elections in decades. Polling sites opened late. Ballot scanners failed. About 125,000 Democratic voters were purged from the Brooklyn rolls while others found their party affiliation had inexplicably changed. While many pointed to what is seen as typical city Board of Elections dysfunction, complaints from across the city prompted a strong official response.

Comptroller Scott Stringer announced an audit of the BOE, Mayor Bill de Blasio promised to hold the BOE responsible, and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman initiated an investigation into the matter. On Thursday, City Council Member Ben Kallos, chair of the governmental operations committee, which has oversight of the BOE, joined the chorus, telling Gotham Gazette that he would hold an oversight hearing within the next two months to “get to the bottom of what happened.”

“I think there are recurring problems that continue to happen despite our efforts,” Kallos said.

For all the hand-wringing and accusations of incompetence around Tuesday’s election, New Yorkers had little cause for surprise. The problems at the BOE that made headlines across the country are far from new. For years, the body charged with running elections, maintaining the electoral rolls, educating and registering voters has been criticized for its functional inefficiencies, hiring practices, mistakes, and structure.

http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/city/6297-as-problems-persist-city-council-to-examine-board-of-elections