Calls for Reforming New York City’s Board of Elections (NYCBOE) are heating up among Legislators and Watchdogs who say, last month’s Ranked-Choice-Voting (RCV) Mayoral Vote-Counting Debacle revealed Longstanding Problems that have gone Unchecked.
“It’s no longer a debate that we need a modern, professional agency,” State Sen. Liz Krueger (D-28th District), my State Senator, Chairwoman of the Senate Finance Committee, said Wednesday during a Conference Call. “We have to confront that it is not working for us.”
As Eric Adams prepares to enter the General Election as the Democratic Party Mayor Nominee, both Kathryn Garcia and Maya Wiley Conceded Wednesday, there is a fresh sense of Urgency among Government Watchdogs and Legislators to press for Concrete Changes following a 135,000 Ballot Counting Error, Test Ballots were Nor Removed before Count, that Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-35th District) defined as “a national embarrassment.”
Some Watchdogs, including John Kaehny at Reinvent Albany, have gone so far as to call the City’s Board of Election’s Dysfunction “a national political burden for Democrats” that has left New York “stuck in a cycle of failure.”
June’s Vote-Processing Mistake was just the Latest Error from an Agency plagued by recent Controversy. The U.S. Justice Department Sued the Board in 2017 for Removing more than 117,000 Democrats from Voting Roles, and it received widespread Criticism, last year, for sending 100,000 Incorrect Absentee Ballots to Brooklyn Voters.
Failures at the Board stem from Three Root Issues of: Accountability, Objectivity. and Transparency, according to Jarret Berg, Co-Founder of Vote Early NY, a Nonprofit promoting Voting Rights. Berg said Commissioners and Staff are Protected from the City Council, the Mayor, and other City Authorities, due to Language in the State Constitution. “There’s very little compliance and enforcement,” he said. “Other states have the secretary of state, but in New York, who does the buck stop with?”
Unlike in California, which Elects its Secretary of State Directly, and Texas, whose Governor Appoints the Secretary of State, Elections in New York are Administered by an Equal Number of Democratic and Republican Commissioners, selected by County Leaders at Local Levels, which Insulates them from their Jurisdictions. Most of New York’s 58 Counties are Split One-and-One, while New York City has 10 Commissioners Split One-and-One across its Five Boroughs.
That creates an Objectivity Issue, as Partisan Calculations enter into Decisions such as where to Locate Polling Places. “You get plans where certain communities are squeezed out,” Berg said. “The decisions they make are the product of political or partisan considerations.” Transparency has Fallen by the wayside during the Covid-19 Pandemic, according to Berg, who said the City Board hasn’t taken Public Testimony in more than a year. Its Executive Sessions are usually done behind Closed Doors.
There are Paths toward Reform that Elections Experts say are both Realistic and Meaningful and would address the Three Root Problems.
“We have found that there’s a basic set of best practices that other jurisdictions implement that do not seem to be used at the Board of Elections,” said Joanna Zdanys, Counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, who noted the Senate and Assembly could hold Hearings and form Commissions to Enact the Best Practices.
Simple Operation Changes could include: Public Hiring instead of Patronage Appointments, Improved Technical Training with New Voting Technology, better Election Planning for RCV Campaigns, and allowing the Public to Examine how the Agency Operates and Prepares for Elections.
Zdanys said that would “go a long way” toward Improving Functions at the Board.
So far, Albany has focused on Voter Reform, making it easier to Cast a Ballot in New York.
A Bill aimed at Greater Accountability and Professional Hiring at the NYCBOE has been Stuck in Committee since 2019.
Krueger Co-Sponsored the Bill with Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-25th District). It looks to Remove as many Job Functions from the Board’s 10 Commissioners as is Legally possible and Transfer those Functions to Nonpartisan Professional Staff Members selected by the Mayor and City Council. The Joint Legislation would make it Easier to Remove Senior Board Staff and would create Educational Requirements for Workers across the entire Agency. “Every other government agency is run where someone is hired to run the agency, and if they fail you fire and replace them,” Krueger said, adding that she is Confident her Legislation will move Forward as Early as the Fall.
Senate Spokesman, Mike Murphy, took umbrage at the notion that the Democratic Majority Failed to Prioritize Fixing the Board. “No legislative body has undertaken more voting reforms than the Senate majority,” Murphy said, “and we will continue to reform the state’s broken and outdated voting systems.” He referenced Legislation that established Early Voting in 2019 and Expanded Voter Registration last year and Absentee Ballot use this year.
But, None of those Reforms directly Impacted the Makeup at the NYCBOE, however.
Another Legislative Option for Albany, that would take Longer to Implement but undoubtedly holds the Most Far-Reaching Consequence, is Amending the State Constitution Statute, that Requires an Equal Number of Major Party Participants to Administer Local Elections.
Before it could be put before Voters in a Statewide Referendum, any Constitutional Amendment must Pass Two Consecutive Legislative Sessions, meaning Legislators Elected last year would need to Pass the Same Amendment Together with Legislators eEected Next Year, making any Amendment at least Three Years away, at the Earliest.
The Fact that Democrats hold a Veto-Proof Majority means they can go Forward without the Republican Party, which has the Most to Lose if the NYCBOE is Restructured.
It remains to be seen whether Democrats have the Willpower to Amend the Constitution, as many Democrats, especially at Local Levels, Benefit from the Status Quo.
The Bills “don’t go anywhere because the county parties don’t like them, and the county parties are controlled by people who control the state parties,” Kaehny said. “The enemies of reform have seen wave after wave of public outrage and indignation, and they say, ‘This will pass.’”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
No comments:
Post a Comment