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pat_k

(9,313 posts)
Mon Apr 18, 2016, 09:06 PM Apr 2016

NY Party Affiliation Debacle: The Culprit? Hurricane Sandy

Last edited Tue Apr 19, 2016, 04:14 AM - Edit history (1)

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2016/04/18/3770355/new-york-voting-open-primary-lawsuit/

Westchester County voter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez decided to check on the status of her voter registration last month, after hearing about problems in Arizona’s primary. She was dismayed to discover that, despite being a registered Democrat since 2008, her party affiliation had been changed to unaffiliated. She is now unable to vote for her preferred candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), in the primary.

“I am so hurt that my right to vote in this primary has been taken from me,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a Reddit post explaining her situation.

Ocasio-Cortez was later told by her local Board of Elections that her party affiliation was changed during Hurricane Sandy. The devastating storm hit right before Election Day 2012, and in an emergency measure, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) allowed New York residents to vote at any precinct via affidavit ballot. Ocasio-Cortez was stuck in New York City for the storm, so she voted there instead of in Westchester.

“Apparently when I signed that affidavit my party affiliation was waived,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “I had no idea I was losing my party status when I did that… Had I known this was the case I would have fixed this ages ago.”


This is outrageous!

Conscientious voters who went out of their way to vote even though they were stranded away from home were stripped of their party affiliation. And I would guess that many, like Ocasio-Cortez, had no idea what the implications of signing the affidavit ballot would be.

What a nightmare.
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Response to pat_k (Original post)

DVRacer

(707 posts)
3. This is not the country I want when things like this happen
Mon Apr 18, 2016, 10:28 PM
Apr 2016

We can and should do better than this. She was doing her civic duty to vote and because of some loophole in the paperwork has lost her ability to vote tomorrow.

pat_k

(9,313 posts)
5. I don't know...
Mon Apr 18, 2016, 10:42 PM
Apr 2016

... whether or not they did. I suspect not. But even if they did i could see not looking very closely and just filing away.

democrattotheend

(11,605 posts)
6. K & R
Mon Apr 18, 2016, 10:44 PM
Apr 2016

Now hopefully both sides can see that a) Bernie folks are not crazy/whining/sore losers for pointing out that people unwittingly had their registrations switched, and b) Hillary and her supporters were not behind any switches. This is a problem for both candidates and I hope we can all agree that people like this woman should be able to vote tomorrow.

ConservativeDemocrat

(2,720 posts)
7. I'm a 100% Hillary supporter and this is actually believable!
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 02:02 AM
Apr 2016

Not only that, but it's reasonable for it to be corrected!

- C.D. Proud Member of the Reality Based Community

/ An actual reasonable issue coming from a Sanders supporter, that is actually unfair to voters, instead of hate filled fact free accusations? Hell must be freezing over.

pat_k

(9,313 posts)
9. Seems like this is a problem that merits more attention.
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 02:38 AM
Apr 2016

I'm kind of surprised at the limited response to this OP.

pat_k

(9,313 posts)
14. It's one of the instances included in the lawsuit...
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 02:49 AM
Apr 2016

...so it is being brought to the attention of the court.

Nevertheless, as soon as it became clear that this was a problem, I would have expected more "buzz." I don't know why we haven't seen more specific warnings to people who voted by affidavit ballot after Sandy -- or specific action to seek a remedy for people who lost their voter affiliation in this way.

mhatrw

(10,786 posts)
15. FUCK NEW YORK FOR DOING EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO ENSURE VOTER SUPPRESSION!
Tue Apr 19, 2016, 03:56 AM
Apr 2016

Seriously, fuck New York for disenfranchising so many of its citizens, even those who do their best to vote every election!

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