2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumAmy Goodman & Ari Berman: Millions of New Yorkers Were Disenfranchised from the Primaries!
Millions of New Yorkers Disenfranchised from Primaries Thanks to State's Restrictive Voting Laws
April 19, 2016
Story
"Democracy Now's" Amy Goodman speaks with Ari Berman of "The Nation:"
Published on Apr 19, 2016
Meanwhile, independent or unaffiliated voters had to change their party registrations back in Octoberover 190 days agoto vote in todays closed Democratic or Republican primaries. Meanwhile, WNYC is reporting there are 60,000 fewer registered Democrats in Brooklyn and no clear reason why. This comes as a group of New Yorkers who saw their party affiliations mysteriously switched filed a lawsuit seeking to open the states closed primary so that they can cast a ballot. We speak to The Nations Ari Berman, author of "Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America."
Partial Transcript Below the "You Tube."
AMY GOODMAN: While Hillary Clinton urged everyone to come out and vote today, thats not an option for millions of New Yorkers, thanks to the states restrictive voting laws. Last week, Bernie Sanders admitted New York will be a tough primary, thanks to those voting rules.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: We have a system here in New York where independents cant get involved in the Democratic primary, where young people who have not previously registered and want to register today just cant do it. So this is going to be a tough primary for us.
AMY GOODMAN: Thats Senator Sanders speaking last week in front of 27,000 people in New Yorks Washington Square Park. While Sanders has held a series of massive rallies in New York, many of his supporters cant vote today in the states closed primary. Voting rights activists say New York has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country. The state has no early voting, no Election Day registration, and excuse-only absentee balloting. The voter registration deadline for the primary closed 25 days ago, before any candidate had even campaigned in New York. Meanwhile, independent or unaffiliated voters had to change their party registrations back in Octoberover 190 days ago, before any debate or any primary or caucusto vote in todays closed Democratic or Republican primaries. This will reportedly disenfranchise nearly 30 percent of New Yorkers. Donald Trumps own children did not manage to change their party registrations from independent to Republican in time to vote for their father.
Meanwhile, WNYC is reporting the number of registered Democrats in Brooklyn dropped by 60,000 since November, and theres no clear reason why. During that same period, most counties in New York saw an increase in registered Democrats. This comes as a group of New Yorkers who saw their party affiliations mysteriously switched filed a lawsuit seeking to open New Yorks closed primaries so that they can cast a ballot. The lawsuit is asking for an emergency declaratory judgment that would make todays New York primary open, meaning any registered New York voter could cast a ballot in either partys primary.
Well, for all this and more, were joined by Ari Berman, senior contributing writer for The Nation, where he covers voting rights. His latest book, Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America.
------------
Welcome to Democracy Now!, Ari. You wrote a piece in The Nation, "27 Percent of New Yorks Registered Voters Wont Be Able to Vote in the States Primary." Can you explain this?
ARI BERMAN: Yes. Thanks for having me back, Amy. So, nearly a third of New Yorkers cant participate in the primary because they are not registered with the Democratic or Republican Party, and New York has some of the most restrictive voter registration laws in the country, as you mentioned. People had to change their party affiliations back in October, when no one was paying attention to the New York primary. People had to register to vote 25 days before the election, before any candidate had campaigned in New York. And beyond that, New York has some of the worst voting laws in the country. Unlike 37 states, we dont have early voting. Unlike 15 states, we dont have Election Day registration. Our Constitution doesnt even allow Election Day registration, because you have to register no later than 10 days before an election. We have excuse-only absentee ballots, meaning you have to prove youre out of town andor you to prove you have a disability to get an absentee ballot.
I think its sad that we are the fourth bluest state in the country but have some of the worst voting laws. We rank below Texas, below North Carolina, behind all of these states with new voting restrictions, in terms of voter turnout. We ranked 44th in voter turnout in 2012. We got a D-minus from the Center for American Progress on accessibility to the ballot. So, regardless of which candidate youre for, regardless of whether youre for open or closed primaries, we should be for making it much easier to vote in New York.
AMY GOODMAN: Why is this, Ari? Why are these laws so restrictive in New York? Who passed these laws, and when did they do it?
ARI BERMAN: Both parties want to protect the status quo in New York, Amy. Democrats, by and large, are happy with the system. Republicans, by and large, are happy with the system. They just want their slice of the pie, and they what to protect it. Incumbents who are in power want to stay that way. So, unlike states like Oregon and California, which have embraced reform, passing policies like automatic voter registration and Election Day registration, New York has not followed this trend for progressive reform. And I think thats really unfortunate. The one good thing that could come out of this primary, with the Trump kids not being able to register, with so many Bernie supporters not being able to register, is that finally people are paying attention to just how bad New Yorks voting laws really are, how many people are shut out of the democratic process here.
AMY GOODMAN: So, can you talk about this piece in the New York Daily News, which recently ran an article, "Hundreds of New York state voters to file suit calling the closed primary 'a threat to our democratic system' after claiming their party affiliation mysteriously changed." The article quotes Joanna Viscuso, a 19-year-old from Long Island. She said she registered to vote as a Democrat during her college orientation at Adelphi University in 2014. Then, she noticed last week that now her voter registration online says shes not affiliated with a party. Viscuso reportedly called the Nassau Board of Elections, and they told her that she had filled out a form in September to change her party affiliation, and sent it in October. But she claims she never did that. She says shes a first-time voter. She told the New York Daily News, "As soon as I noticed it was changed I was infuriated, and then when they said there was nothing I could do I was still infuriated. All of a sudden we cant vote? Thats ridiculous!" she said. How is this possible?
ARI BERMAN: Its a very mysterious situation. Weve seen similar things happen in other states. In Arizona, where there were five-hour lines at the polls because they reduced so many polling places, a lot of people also had their voter registration switched without them knowing. So people waited in five-hour lines and still werent able to cast a ballot, because they were not registered. In New York, what these voters should do is cast a provisional ballot and try to have that ballot counted after the election. There is going to be a lawsuit this morning to try to open up New Yorks primary. Regardless of whether or not that succeeds, people should go to the polls. They should vote today. They should cast a provisional ballot and try to get that counted afterwards.
AMY GOODMAN: A WNYC analysis of New York state voter enrollment statistics found that the number of active registered Democrats dropped there [in Brooklyn] by 63,558 voters between November 2015 and now, April 2016. That translates into a 7 percent drop in registered Democrats in the borough. According to the NPR station in New York, WNYC, no other borough in New York City nor county in the rest of the state saw such a significant decline in active registered Democrats. In fact, only seven of the states 62 counties saw a drop in the number of Democrats. Everywhere else saw the numbers increase. Can you explain whats going on in Brooklyn?
ARI BERMAN: What the Board of Elections in Brooklyn said is that they had changed the number of voters from active to inactive, and thats why there was such a big drop-off. But 60,000 people are a lot of voters to shift from active to inactive. So, its very possible that some active voters are going to be wrongly purged from the polls, and some people are going to show up to vote in Brooklyn, think theyre registered, think theyre active, and not be on the voting rolls. We have seen this in many other states, in Florida in 2000, in Ohio in 2004. I hope
AMY GOODMAN: Ari, how do you become inactive?
ARI BERMAN: You become inactive
AMY GOODMAN: What determines this?
ARI BERMAN: by not voting in the past few elections. Thats how you become inactive. But sometimes people dont vote for whatever reason and want to vote now. Other times, people are wrongly labeled inactive and wrongly purged from the voting rolls. So, we dont know enough to say what happened here, but its disturbing that some people may have been put on inactive status if they are not in fact inactive.
AMY GOODMAN: Ari Berman, I want to thank you for being with us, senior contributing writer for The Nation, where he covers voting rights. His book is titled Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America. And well link to your piece in The Nation magazine, "27 Percent of New Yorks Registered Voters Wont Be Able to Vote in the States Primary." Well link at democracynow.org.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)and it would behoove those interested in getting as many voters as possible in a position to vote for their candidate, seems like someone dropped the ball here.
rhett o rick
(55,981 posts)Some day soon the 99% will kick the Rich Fat Cats and their minions to the curb. We are fighting for democracy and some are fighting to hold on to the oligarchy. It's Authoritarian adulation.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)We are a highly informed constituancy...not like normal residents of this country, and we still screw up on voting rules.
So, is it OK with you that voters are disenfranchised because of a six month freeze on changing parties that they may not have been aware of?
Do you think voting and voting rules should be this confusing to the common voter...who is often suffering from apathy in the whole voter system that hurts Dems more than Republicans?
Seriously...you are OK with disenfranchisement of dem voters because it helps you in this primary?
How sick is that?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Tells me the NY voters knew they needed to change their registration six months ago and did not change their party. No problem.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)I said DU member are unique in being more informed than the average voter, and even here there were members who did not know about the six month restriction on changing parties in NY.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)to be told they must change their party registration before October or not? I saw this information last year, the open, semi open and closed primaries. There are cut offs on registration and other rules, if the deadline for changing passed, it passed.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)Don't you?
I don't know where you "got" this information, but apparently many voters did not get it in time to make them eligible to vote.
and as a dem, you don't see that as a problem, considering often republicans win from low numbers of dems voting?
Cause right now you are making it sound like you don't give a shit if voters are informed or not.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)my state. This is why it would have been good for voter education to have begun a long time ago. To come in here now and make accusations against myself is not going to change the rules. I said something about educating voter, you seemed to take offense. I am not to blame for this failure.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)So you, a politically savvy voter (which is not common) is smarter than all those losers who did not keep up?
Got it. And your superior attitude somehow helps us win votes how?
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)be of great help to us.
passiveporcupine
(8,175 posts)Dishonest though.
chascarrillo
(3,897 posts)But hey, as long as your candidate wins...
appalachiablue
(41,132 posts)were implemented over years by measures like eliminating early voting, requiring new, additional and often expensive voter IDs, the closure of many DMV offices needed to obtain DLs and documents, an extreme reduction in polling hours for voting, and more. And there was state MONEY APPROPRIATED FOR EDUCATION OF CITIZENS ABOUT NEW, EXTENSIVE VOTING RULES, but the funds disappeared somehow. Imagine that..
Tarc
(10,476 posts)This is a vote for a party nominee, not a vote for the president. Political parties set their own rules as to when an how a person has to be registered wit the party in order to participate in that party's elections. No one prevented you from registering; you were not harassed, intimidated, or defrauded of your right to join the Democratic Party. You simply did not register by the date specified.
Missing a deadline is not "disenfranchisement", so please, build a bridge and get the fuck over it.
Corporate666
(587 posts)by the 49 out of 50 states that don't let each of us vote in their primaries.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)riversedge
(70,223 posts)Chaos for those who followed the rules.
workinclasszero
(28,270 posts)Its sickening to see this BS going on!
rjsquirrel
(4,762 posts)Amy Goodman should know better, how disappointing.
No one was "disenfranchised." New York's rules have been the same for 40 years.
I speak from experience. I registered Independent after Obama won in 2008 and have not voted in a Dem primary since then until today.
Back in October I knew to change my registration -- at the time because I *wanted* to vote for Bernie as a protest vote (figuring Hillary had it in the bag and needed to be pulled left). I did it with weeks to spare. I got calls from the Sanders campaign reminding me at the time, lol.
By today I had changed my mind fully -- thanks BS supporters for convincing me misogyny is still the issue -- and voted for Hillary. I walked in at 8am and out at 8:10am.
I have lived in New York for 25 years. I've never had any problem with my voter registration or the voting process. Suggesting a longstanding system that routinely produces high levels of minority representation (among other things, a reliably blue state in presidential and congressional elections) is "voter suppression" smells badly of butthurt.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)Response to KoKo (Original post)
PeaceNikki This message was self-deleted by its author.
Jefferson23
(30,099 posts)Codeine
(25,586 posts)and my success was riding on young and independent voters then I would be well-advised to start an educational drive early in the process to get my people registered or get their party affiliation changed in a timely manner.
Instead I recall the Sanders campaign bitching that there were no DNC workers registering people at the Sanders rallies.
Amateur hour.
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)ReRe
(10,597 posts)... register voters at the Hillary rallies? If so, then I wonder what else the DNC workers did for Hillary that they didn't do for Bernie? Do you reckon the DNC didn't realize Bernie changed his party affiliation to Democrat when he entered the race?
Sparkly
(24,149 posts)Stop it.
azmom
(5,208 posts)Independent. Don't they want them to vote?
vintx
(1,748 posts)We're now seeing the fruits of the turd way fuckers' efforts.
We have this kind of shit in this once preferable party.
tritsofme
(17,378 posts)of the rules. The failure belongs solely to Sanders campaign.
vintx
(1,748 posts)From lifelong yellow dog Dem to 'fuck this shit' in less than six months.
Good job, DNC!
Thinkingabout
(30,058 posts)nomination? Now that would not be very democratic. So far, Hillary is up by 2.4 m votes, would that be fair?
djean111
(14,255 posts)desmiller
(747 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]There is nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it.
Nothing.[/center][/font][hr]
desmiller
(747 posts)pinebox
(5,761 posts)Bernie wins at the convention
randome
(34,845 posts)[hr][font color="blue"][center]Birds are territorial creatures.
The lyrics to the songbird's melodious trill go something like this:
"Stay out of my territory or I'll PECK YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OUT!"[/center][/font][hr]
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)chascarrillo
(3,897 posts)You may stop using Republican arguments any time you wish.
msanthrope
(37,549 posts)Firebrand Gary
(5,044 posts)brooklynite
(94,572 posts)"millions"?
ReRe
(10,597 posts)Koko, wonder where the ACLU lawyers were? The proverbial shit ought to hit the fan this morning. We'll see. If the M$M doesn't report on this, I guess that means it didn't happen. Wrong. It did happen and c. 27% of voters were disenfranchised, 7% of which was in Brooklyn alone!
And I want to add one thing: Shame on you Hillary supporters for acting the bully in this thread. What Is wrong with you? Shake yourself, will yuz? Bet you'd be howling if the shoe was on the other foot. For the love of democracy, stop and think before you post. This is a serious problem, election after election after election! If you truly don't care if 27,000 people tried to vote and couldn't yesterday,
how can you call yourself an honest to God Democrat?????
KoKo
(84,711 posts)Instead of watching CNN/MSNBC I watched the NYT's Election Center as the votes were coming in and this is worth a look. I think more will come out in the coming weeks about issues that "Democracy Now" pointed out. Bernie's in it for the long haul, thankfully, and what is being revealed about our election system in many states needed to be revealed.
If you look at the map of NYS and the Bernie Vote in NYC and the Borough's compared to Bernie's votes in the rest of the state, it's very interesting. Scroll down and look at the neighborhoods in New York City
http://www.nytimes.com/elections/results/new-york
What I do is mute the TV so I don't have to listen to the propaganda. At 9:01 pm MSNBC called it. Elections are not like they used to be. Used to, they wouldn't actually call an election until 50% of the vote was in. Now it's less than a minute after the polls closed.
I did look at your link. I need to bookmark the NYT's Election Center and just turn off the TV. Thanks for telling me about it. That is unbelievable. Shame on NYC. Who knew they are so bad at putting on an election? You and me and my sister could go up there and show them how to do it.
Yeah, Bernie is allot of things, but he's no quitter. I'm off now to go make a mode$t donation into his campaign.
KoKo
(84,711 posts)Off to do the same..
ReRe
(10,597 posts)We get so swept up in these childish spats with the Hillary crowd.
I'm going to keep my mind on the PRIZE: Go Bernie!
pnwmom
(108,978 posts)Many of those people are active members of other, smaller parties and do not want to have any part of Republican or Democratic politics.
Here is a list of political parties in NY. There is no evidence that all the members of these official parties REALLY wanted to vote for Bernie Sanders.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_New_York
Uncle Joe
(58,362 posts)Thanks for the thread, KoKo.