Fixing the vote: Schneiderman report calls for voting reforms in NYS

By Sarah Hall

Editor

According to New York State Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, the state’s existing election laws erect “significant barriers to voter access in at least two major ways: First, the state’s rules, laws, procedures and practices governing voter registration prevented many New Yorkers from participating in the primary; second, some of the rules, laws, procedures, and practices governing voting itself restricted voter access to the ballot.”

The revelation came after an investigation into some 1,500 complaints were received by the voter protection hotline run by attorney general’s office during the presidential primary back in April. The number is 10 times higher than in any previous election, prompting the AG’s office to contact eight Boards of Election throughout the state — Albany, Erie, Monroe, Nassau, New York City (which covers Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens and Richmond counties), Onondaga, Suffolk and Westchester counties — to investigate their practices.

According to Onondaga County Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny and his Republican counterpart, Helen Kiggins Walsh, Onondaga County saw some of the same problems seen across the state.

“I think what caught most people off-guard was the long waits that you had change their parties,” Czarny said, pointing to the state law that any party changes had to be submitted six months before the primary in October of last year — a longer period than any other state in the country. “Usually, the presidential primary, by the time it got to New York, it hasn’t been a contested primary. For the first time in a generation, we have a contested primary. People got caught off-guard because they had to change their parties. This is a law that’s been on the books since 1909 that it takes so long to change your party here.”

In addition, Czarny said voters were surprised to find that most polls didn’t open until noon.

“That caught people off-guard as well, even though primaries in Upstate New York — again, since 1909, they’ve always been unionized,” he said. “But because this was a once-in-a-generation presidential primary where people were who didn’t normally go for primaries, they were caught a little off-guard as well.”

Schneiderman’s report cited the restrictions on changing party enrollment “exceedingly restrictive” and noted that the bulk of the voter complaints—about two-thirds—involved “barriers posed by voter registration rules, laws, procedures and practices.” In addition to changing party enrollment, the report pointed to the following:

Failures of state agencies to transmit registration information to local boards of election
Errors in processing voter registrations
Flaws in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ online registration system that caused it to crash prior to the deadline

Another fifth of voter complaints concerned confusion on the part of voters regarding reduced polling hours or changes in polling places, as well as inhibited access to affidavit ballots by local boards of election.

Kiggins Walsh said Onondaga County did not fall victim to any of the preceding flaws.

“We don’t restrict access to affidavit ballots like some counties do,” she said. “We make inspectors call in and verify. We’ve instructed our poll workers that if someone is there and says they are registered to let them vote an affidavit ballot. We do ask them to try to confirm that they are at the right spot so that the ballot is counted.”

Kiggins Walsh said Schneiderman pointed to Onondaga County as an example of what county boards of election should be doing.

“We did a good job,” she said. “We have a good system working.”

To prevent challenges like those experienced by voters in the 2016 presidential primary, Schneiderman’s report proposed the 2017 New York Votes Act, a bill that would overhaul the state’s voting systems. The bill seeks to increase voter registration, streamline the voting process and expand statewide voter turnout. Several state legislators have already expressed support for the proposal. Czarny, too, said he supported the reforms, though he did have some concerns about the cost.

“Obviously, cost is always an issue when we’re talking about these voting reforms,” he said, “but I notice in his proposal [Schneiderman] put in there a citywide election fund that will help pay for some of these reforms. Some of these reforms will actually eventually pay for themselves with the increased efficiency and better services.”

Kiggins Walsh also worried about the burden some of the proposals would place on staff, particularly on a small board like Onondaga County’s.

“It depends on what you’re talking about it,” she said. “If it’s same day registration, we would definitely need more bodies in here on the [day of] election to process all this stuff. I mean, we are a very lean board now compared to many other boards in New York state. We have far fewer employees per registered voter in the county as it is. That would definitely cause us to have to hire extra people right after the election.”

Kiggins Walsh expressed doubts about early voting, which would open polls at specific dates and times up to two weeks prior to Election Day.

“We would have to have poll sites open numerous days,” she said. “We would have to go into electronic poll books to track who is voting early, because we print poll books… It’s just a lot of people to try to put in place for a number of days. And again, if you read the studies around the country it doesn’t really increase turnout.”

Instead, Kiggins Walsh supported the idea of early voting by no-excuse absentee ballot, which allows any voter to obtain an absentee ballot whether they’re available to vote in their regular polling place on Election Day or not and, according to the proposal, would allow online access to absentee ballots.

“It’s much, much less expensive and we could buy a second scanner that’s all we would have to do and we could handle that kind of extra work [with] volunteers,” she said.

Kiggins and Czarny agreed that the period in which to change party enrollment needs to be changed, though neither was sure if Schneiderman’s proposal was right.

“I just don’t know if 25 days is too short of a time period,” Czarny said. “The discussion needs to be had.”

Kiggins Walsh pointed out that the reason a waiting period exists is to prevent “party raiding,” where people switch their party to vote in the primary, then switch back before the general election.

“If only the Republicans were having a primary, the Democrats could switch to Republican and vote for the weakest candidate, so they pick who they run against and I’m not a fan of that,” she said. “You get some people organized, you could totally corrupt the primary… Especially with a 25-day window. Maybe 90 days.”

Kiggins Walsh also rejected the proposal for automatic registration—“I think people should have to do a little something to get registered,” she said—but that was the one Czarny was most excited about.

“It will allow our voter lists to be more accurate, which will reduce fraud, or the potential for fraud, anyways,” he said. “States see reduced costs because once we have all of our lists more accurate, it will mean less changes that we have to make when people move and don’t update their registration. I admit I’m very much in favor of automatic voting registration. I think that’s a revolutionary concept.”

Whichever proposals end up being adopted, both Czarny and Kiggins Walsh agreed that expanding voter access in New York is a good thing.

“Definitely these are things that will be good for the voters,” Czarny said. “I’d love to see us start joining some of the other states in this century with these other, for me, these instant rights.”

What’s in the 2017 New York Votes Act?

According to a release from Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office, the following reforms are part of the proposed 2017 New York Votes Act:

Voter registration

Automatic registration of eligible voters: Any state or local “source agency” that collects information from a person who has formal contact with that agency as part of an application, registration or other similar process would be required to automatically electronically transmit identifying information for that person (e.g., name, address, date of birth, driver’s license number, Social Security Number) to the New York State Board of Elections (BOE) for inclusion in a statewide voter registration database.
Same-day registration for new voters: Amend New York State Election Law to permit a qualified person who is not registered to vote in the state to appear personally at the appropriate polling place on the day of any primary, general or special election, register to vote, and simultaneously cast his or her ballot. Once the registration is vetted, the voter’s ballot would be counted, and the voter would be added to the voting rolls.
Online voter registration: Allow electronic voter registration, so that any qualified registrant can complete the entire registration process online via a desktop computer or handheld device.
Create a system of permanent voter registration: Implement a system of “permanent” voter registration in the state by requiring the state BOE and local BOEs to update the registration of any consenting voter who moves within the state and submits change of address information to officials at designated government agencies.
Allow registered voters to change their party enrollment closer to primary day: Allow already-registered voters to change their party affiliation up to 25 days (if so postmarked by mail) or up to 10 days (if delivered in person to the local BOE) prior to any primary election.

Voting

Adopt a system of early voting: Permit a registered voter to vote at the local BOE in the same county or city where the voter is registered, and at one or more other designated polling places, seven days per week (excluding certain holidays) starting two weeks before an election.
Provide for “no excuse” absentee voting: Repeal, in its entirety, the current requirement that absentee ballots can only be obtained and cast by otherwise qualified voters if they meet one of several statutorily-enumerated justifications for obtaining such ballots. The bill also would allow online submission of applications for absentee ballots.
Ensure uniformity of poll site hours across the state
• Require poll sites to open at 6 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. during all primary elections.
• Consolidate federal, state and local primaries on single day.
• Hold all statewide primary elections on one day in early June.
Enact disaster preparedness protections: Vest authority in the Governor to delay elections; create procedures for relocating poll sites and extended absentee voting periods after a disaster; and provide broad authority to the State BOE to create the rules and plans necessary to conduct an election during an emergency.

Enhance access to the ballot

Increase language access: Whenever any local BOE finds that 3 percent of the voting-age residents of an election precinct have Limited English Proficiency, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, it shall provide ballots as well as registration or voting notices, forms, instructions, assistance, and other materials or information relating to the electoral process in the primary language of the population in question, in a manner that provides the same opportunity for access and participation as voters whose primary language is English.
Protect voters from improper challenges: Require a good-faith basis and supporting documentation for anyone challenging voter eligibility on Election Day, as well as penalties for those who abuse this provision of the law.
Restore voting rights for citizens on parole: Restore voting rights to parolees with felony convictions. Restoration would not be contingent upon payment of fees, fines, restitution, or other legal financial obligations.
Enhance poll worker training and recruitment: Mandate all poll workers in the state complete training approved by the state BOE. Also, help local BOEs strengthen existing training programs.