NYC Mayor Bloomberg and New Paper Ballot

This entry comes from an article in The Daily News By Adam Lisberg.

Mayor Bloomberg continued his campaign against the Board of Elections on his radio show this morning, where he again blasted its process for picking voting machines that use paper ballots instead of an all-electronic version. “I happen to think the machines that they picked, after many years delay, 10 years, and they went back to the chad days,” Bloomberg said.

Well we do not have a chad problem as we are using new optical scanners with paper ballots that you use a pen to fill-in an oval to mark your selection. You also can use a touch screen to make your selections then the machine will create your marked ballot that you then have the optical scanner read to cast your vote.

The Mayor's spokesman Stu Loeser said yesterday the mayor "doesn't believe that literally this involves chads," though since the small-i independent Bloomberg can't vote in party primaries, he didn't get a chance to try the machine himself last month. Today Loeser said the mayor used chads as an example of the fallibility of interpreting markings on paper ballots as opposed to an all-electronic system.

Perhaps it's just a coincidence, then, that the Board of Elections has a crew setting up a demonstration voting machine right outside City Hall this morning, where the mayor can try the new chad-free system himself if he likes.

Even with all the problems I have discussed in prior post about the printing of the ballot and how it has been programmed for over votes, it is still a good system. It will now have hard copy of the ballot to be used for recounts. It will also have mandatory audit counts of a percent of the scanners for each election.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC BOE Director Canned

NYC had not had a Executive Director of its Board of Elections for a long time during the conversion from lever voting machines to new optical scanners.

George Gonzalez, a 22 year veteran of the Board, who has held the $172,753 job only since mid-August 2009, narrowly averted being fired during a private session of the board last Friday, when three of the ten commissioners weren’t physically present. The three listened in on a telephone conference call while Gonzalez’s future was being hashed out, but couldn’t vote because the rules require members to be physically present to do so. Gonzalez was not invited to attend the private session, during which some board members openly called for his firing for incompetence, insubordination “or worse.”

A product of the Bronx Democratic party, Gonzalez is taking the rap for many of the screw-ups and embarrassments that have buffeted the board in recent weeks: from the problem-plagued Sept. 14 primary, to a snafu regarding voter instructions for marking the ovals on the paper ballots for Tuesday’s election to the suspicious shifting of the order of candidates’ names on the ballot for the special election for the late Tom White’s former City Council seat in Queens, to the ordering of expensive office furniture while crying poverty.

Today, the board came out after a 45-minute private meeting and announced that they fired Gonzalez in a vote with six commissioners in support and four abstaining. Board President Julie Dent stated, "The board has voted to terminate our executive director, George Gonzalez..We thank George for all the years of service..He's been with the board for 22 years, and again, we appreciate it."

With seven days to go before Election Day, current Deputy Director Dawn Sandow, a Bronx Republican, will become acting executive director.

The way the Board is constructed with five Democrats and five Republicans needs to be changed.

Statement of New York Public Interest Research Group on the Firing of Board of Elections Executive Director George Gonzalez

Today, the New York City Board of Elections fired its Executive Director, George Gonzalez. It is true that day to day operations at the Board are under the purview of the Executive Director. But the hiring or firing of any one individual on the very eve of the 2010 elections in New York City will not necessarily lead to meaningful improvements in the running of the city’s elections.

The voters of New York don’t need sacrificial lambs. What is needed, is a fundamental change in the administration of the Board.

To ensure meaningful improvements for the city’s voters, we call upon the Commissioners of the Board of Elections to break with their past practice of hiring party insiders worked out in deals between the city’s party leaders.

We call for the following reforms in the search for a new Executive Director. The Boar should:

- publish a written job description for the Executive Director Position.

- conduct a national search.

- break with past practice and refuse to hire anyone with past or present partisan Democratic or Republican ties.

- hire the new Executive Director for a set term.

- require an annual performance review for all top executives and borough chiefs.

- commit to hiring someone with a background in electoral administration.

- hire someone with a commitment to a transparency in Board decisions and operations.

We call upon the Mayor, Council and our elected representatives to join in the call for a new generation of leadership at the Board.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Error on instructions of NYC Sample Ballot

The Board of Elections has come in for a lot of criticism from city politicians since the various screw-ups during the September primary.

Now the Brennan Center reveals another gaffe that harkens back to the Palm Beach County butterfly ballot fiasco of 2000.

A sample ballot given to the center by the board tells New Yorkers to vote for a candidate by filling in “the oval above or next to the name of the candidate.” According to the center, similar instructions will be posted in privacy booths. Actually, though, voters should fill in the box under the name of the candidate.

The instructions could leave a voter wanting to cast a ballot for Carl Paladino on the Taxpayers Party line actually voting for the Green Party’s Howie Hawkins.

Apparently absentee ballots have the correct instructions indicating the board actually does know up from down — but not how to proofread.

In a letter to the attorneys for the city and state, the center asked that “the City Board of Elections take immediate action to correct this mistake to ensure that voters are not confused and that ballots are counted as they were intended to be cast.”

Use the above link to read the letter.

The Board of Elections issued a statement on Thursday in response to questions about the erroneous ballot instructions. "On November 2, New York City voters will vote using a paper ballot and optical scanner. To vote for a candidate whose name appears on the paper ballot, voters need to fill in the oval that appears within the voting square for that candidate."

"To ensure that all voters are comfortable and confident using the new voting system, the Board of Elections in the City of New York is placing in every privacy booth at all poll sites, instructions that inform voters that they need to fill in the oval below the candidate name they wish to vote for. The Board is also reinforcing instructions on how to correctly fill out the paper ballot by highlighting this information in upcoming newspaper advertisements and by producing a detailed instructional voter palm card which includes a photo of a correctly marked oval. This palm card will be distributed at every poll site on Election Day and will also be available shortly on the Board’s website," the statement concluded.

The incorrect wording of the instructions is actually mandated by state law.

The provision of New York State Election Law § 7-106 which mandates how the instructions are to be printed on the ballot, reads:

"(2) To vote for a candidate whose name is printed on this ballot fill in the (insert oval or square, as applicable) above or next to the name of the candidate."

City election officials have previously said that almost every aspect of the ballot design is dictated by state law, preventing changes that would make ballots easier to use.

This is another sample of the dysfunction with our state government. They never thought to change the election laws after picking their new voting system.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Some political parties remain outlaws in PA

Pennsylvanians may notice something unusual when they go to the polls in November: Their choices for governor, lieutenant governor, and U.S. Senate will be limited exclusively to Republican and Democratic candidates. Only four other states' 2010 general-election ballots are so restrictive.

What makes Pennsylvania unique, however - and suggests that something has gone seriously wrong here in the birthplace of America - is that the shortage of choices has been effectively imposed by the courts. The state's courts have shut out minor-party candidates by allowing Republicans and Democrats to collect large money judgments from anyone who attempts to challenge the major parties.

Use the above link to read the entire article by Oliver Hall in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Put the Political Labels Aside

You might be interested in this site if you are tired of political parties.

The Opportunity of Shared Purpose

No Labels does not believe we need to search for better values or principles. The solution is even simpler: we must return to the essence of our beliefs. Most Americans in the vital center of our still great country believe that:

Americans are entitled to a government and a political system that works – driven by shared purpose and common sense.

Americans deserve a government that makes the necessary choices to rein in runaway deficits, secure Social Security and Medicare, and put our country on a viable, sound path going forward.Americans support a government that works to spur employment and economic opportunity by encouraging free and open markets, tempered by sensible regulation.

Americans want a government that empowers people with the tools for success – from a world-class education to affordable healthcare – provided that it does so in a fiscally prudent way.

America should be free from discrimination and should embrace the principle of equal opportunity.

America must be strong and safe, ready and able to protect itself in a world of multiple dangers and uncertainties.

The No Labels movement was born out of support for these shared goals, and we are committed to helping our nation remain true to these values that we all profess in an environment, which encourages fact-based discussions.

We are not labels – we are people.
We must put our labels aside,
And put the issues and what’s best for the nation first.
A promising future awaits us.

Just as citizen movements have played an important role in America since its inception, it is time for another movement, one based on No Labels and the merit of ideas. Thanks to the technological innovation available today, we can break down the old hierarchies of power and influence. True Democracy is possible today because we can tether together online, share our concerns and ideas, and exert enormous influence. Today, we join together and connect with one another, and we can make all our voices heard as our Founding Fathers intended.

Use the above link to find out more about the issues and how you can get involved.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Early Voting in the U.S.

Thanks to CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser for this post.

Early voting gets underway in Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, North Dakota, Texas, and the District of Columbia Monday.

That brings to 27 states plus the District of Columbia where early or state-wide absentee voting is underway in the November 2 midterm elections.

Vermont kicked it off back on Sept. 20. Other states were early voting or state-wide absentee voting is under are Georgia, Maine, South Dakota, Iowa, Wyoming, Nebraska, Ohio, Wisconsin, California, Indiana, Montana, Arizona, Illinois, Idaho, Kansas, Tennessee, West Virginia, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Nevada.

Hawaii, Louisiana and Utah allow early voting as of Tuesday, with Oklahoma kicking in on Oct. 29.

"Early voting has grown in popularity, with more voters in more states casting ballots before Election Day. It's really changed the decision calculus behind elections for both candidates and voters. It can be a double-edged sword," says CNN Political Research Director Robert Yoon.

"For the campaigns, if someone casts an early ballot for you, it's like money in the bank. But if they vote against you, that's a lost vote that no amount of TV ads or baby-kissing can change. For voters, you just have to hope that the candidate you voted for back in September is still the candidate you want on November 2nd," adds Yoon.

I think early voting is a bad concept. Here are some examples:

On October 18, Jim Norman appealed last week’s Florida state court ruling that removed him from the ballot. He won the August Republican primary for State Senate in the 12th district, but a Leon County Circuit Court then said his campaign finance reports are dishonest and disqualified him. The story also explains that the Republican Party is making plans to choose a new nominee.

But voters many have already voted and cast a write-in vote for Kevin Ambler in early voting. Unfortunately for those voters, those write-ins won’t be counted because Ambler didn’t file a declaration of write-in candidacy by the July deadline.

Kentucky has the easiest petition requirement of any state, for candidates running in party primaries. They only need 2 valid signatures, plus a filing fee. On October 13, a lower state court declared that the Republican nominee in the 44th state house district, Gail Powers, only submitted one valid signature. The other signature she submitted is from a registered voter who lives outside the 44th district.

The story also says that the Democratic nominee for state house, 37th district, is also being challenged for the same reason. It is too late for these candidates’ names to be removed from the ballot, but if a candidate is determined to have failed to submit a valid petition, votes for that person will not be counted. Kentucky permits write-ins in the general election, if the write-in candidate files a declaration of write-in candidacy by October 22. But it would be difficult for anyone to be a write-in candidate if that person’s name were printed on the ballot. It would be difficult to explain to voters that they should ignore the name of the candidate that is printed on the ballot, yet that same voter should cast a write-in vote for that candidate.

What do you think about early voting?

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NY Injunction for NY Voter Double Votes

Thanks to Ballot Access News for this post.

On October 15, U.S. District Court Judge Red Rakoff refused to issue an injunction in Conservative Party & Working Families Party v New York State Board of Elections, 10 Civ. 6923, eastern district. This is the case in which those two parties complained that when a voter votes for the same candidate twice, once on each party line, election officials will arbitrarily credit that as a vote for the party listed first on the ballot.

The basis for the denial is that the plaintiffs filed the case too late. The order says “Plaintiffs (the political parties) have set forth substantial arguments in favor of their underlying complaint” but they “have slept on their rights and cannot at this late date seek the kind of onerous and potentially confusing relief envisioned..plaintiffs waited until six weeks before the election to file their complaint…the Court will not invoke the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction at this time.” The judge also refused at this time to order elections officials to post signs in each polling place, warning voters not to double vote. He said the plaintiffs have not yet even furnished a sample of what the signs should say.

Use the above link to read the judge’s 5-page order.

Remember, New York is a FUSION state, where all the votes for a candidate on all the party lines are added to the candidates total.

The interesting part of this issue is the wording of the complaint and the judges order. The complaint says: New York Election law 9-112(4) provides that the vote is counted towards the first party on the ballot line. But that is not how the optical scanner is programmed. The vote will go to the first filled in oval on the line. So if two minor party ovals are filled in, the first parties oval will be counted.

Ex. - Andrew Coumo is on the Democratic, Independence Party (IP), and the Working Family Party (WFP) lines for Governor. If the oval for the IP and WFP were filled in, IP would get the vote.

Why is this important? In New York, the Governor race determines if a party gets ballot status for the next four years by getting at least 50,000 votes. And the vote totals determine the parties position on the ballot.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Tea party victors won with few votes

The following research and reporting is by By KASIE HUNT of POLITICO.

Surprise tea party candidates are generating countless headlines, but most have won GOP nods for statewide office with less than 13 percent of the eligible vote — and it could hurt the Republican Party in November, according to a new analysis out Thursday. Their position at the edge of the political spectrum and the relatively low turnout for most of their statewide candidates may make it difficult for the GOP to garner sufficient votes in some states to overcome potential tea party aversion.

Alaska
One of the most successful candidates with tea party support were Republican Joe Miller, who won over 11 percent of eligible voters to beat Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski for the GOP nomination.

Connecticut
Former World Wrestling Entertainment CEO Linda McMahon was nominated with votes from 6 percent of eligible voters.

Delaware
Christine O’Donnell won the GOP nomination for Senate with backing from just 5 percent of eligible voters.

Nevada
GOP Senate nominee Sharron Angle won 4 percent of the state’s voters in her primary.

New York
New York Governor nominee Carl Paladino won with just 2 percent of the eligible vote.

Wisconsin
Republican Ron Johnson, who won votes from 12 percent of the electorate and is challenging Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold.

On the whole, turnout in this year’s primaries was the second lowest ever, at 17.8 percent. The only year that saw lower primary turnout was 2006, when 16.1 percent of eligible voters went to the polls.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE)

The 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE) requires every state to mail their absentee ballots 45 days prior to Election Day to overseas troops, government employees and other Americans who want to vote from abroad.

The Justice Department spokeswoman Xochil Hinojosa confirmed "The Department is working with all states to investigate and remedy any problems that will prevent our men and women serving overseas from having the opportunity to vote and have their votes counted," Hinojosa said.

The following states have problems in 2010:

Illinois

Cris Cray, Director of Legislation at the Illinois State Board of Elections, says not all of Illinois' 110 jurisdictions were compliant with the 2009 Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act (MOVE). Illinois was required to have all of its absentee ballots mailed by Sept. 18, the national deadline. Election officials have until Nov. 15 to count the absentee ballots, which must be postmarked by midnight Nov. 1 to be eligible. Cray says she is currently compiling data from each of Illinois' jurisdictions to determine which were compliant and which were delinquent. Cray said it's possible the ballots may not be counted because the state was tardy in sending them out.

New Mexico

The Justice Department settled a case with New Mexico where six counties failed to mail ballots by the deadline.

New York

The New York State Board of Elections' failure to send all of its 320,000 absentee ballots to the state's military servicemen and women and overseas voters. New York State had been granted a waiver to this provision by the Justice Department, giving the local boards an extra 15 days, until Oct. 1, to get their ballots in the mail. But that date came and went with ballots in the city and four counties remaining unsent. John Conklin, a spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections, confirmed that "all of the ballots" statewide had been sent and reiterated that all military and overseas voters can vote via the state's e-mail ballot delivery system. According to state election board figures, there are 49,468 registered overseas voters in New York State, 20,172 of whom are serving in the military. In New York City alone, there are 36,446 registered overseas voters, including 6,557 who serve in the military.

Update



Indiana

A group that advocates for military voting rights has reported that St. Joseph County in South Bend missed this year's deadline for mailing absentee ballots to service members overseas.

Violations were also found in California, Connecticut, Nevada, along with possible violations in Alabama and Arkansas.

The Military Voter Protection Project

The MVP Project was created to defend military members’ right to vote and to provide them with the very right that they defend.

Use the above link to learn more about their mission or donate online to support their cause.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Third-Parties and Independent Voters

Politicians in both the Republican and Democratic parties are working to galvanize their voter base in November. But, they’re not the only two parties involved. Dr. Omar Ali, an associate professor of African-American and Diaspora Studies at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, joins Michael to discuss third-party politics and its role in this particular election.



I met Dr. Ali in 2001 and have worked with him on many projects for independent and structural political reform.

Use the above link for more information about The Michael Eric Dyson Show.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Pledge to Protect America's Democracy

Rep. Donna Edwards (D-MD), as an activist and an organizer was going head to head with big corporate interests well before she thought of running for Congress. Always outspent and up against tremendous odds, she won a surprising number of those fights.

The task of protecting America's elections from the corrupting influence of unlimited corporate spending seems daunting, she is confident we can rise to the challenge.


That's why she introduced an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to take our democracy back for the people, after the Roberts Supreme Court offered it up to the highest corporate bidders with its 5-4 decision in Citizens United v. FEC. And that's also why I've taken the pledge to continue the fight for an amendment no matter how long it takes.

The Pledge:
I pledge to protect America from unlimited corporate spending in our elections by supporting a Constitutional amendment to overturn the Suprime Court's decision giving corporations the same First Amenment rights as people.

Please join me by signing the Pledge to Protect America's Democracy as a citizen cosponsor by using the above link.

Corporate interests are already spending record amounts to influence this year's elections, since the corporatist majority on the Supreme Court said that corporations have the same First Amendment rights as people. That's just wrong. And we can correct the Court by making it explicit in the Constitution that lawmakers can pass much-needed campaign finance laws and limit the influence of corporations in American elections.

They have the money, but we have the numbers. Join the growing chorus of Americans who are fighting back against runaway corporate excess and corporations' ability to set our nation's agenda. Start by helping to take back our democracy by signing the Pledge to Protect America's Democracy.

Let's show those big corporate interests and the Supreme Court's corporatist majority just what kind of numbers we have.

I thank People For the American Way and Public Citizen for this campaign. And I thank you for standing with us and all the other organizations and activists fighting to make sure the voices or ordinary voters are not drowned out by the louder voices of well-funded corporate interests.

P.S. PFAW and Public Citizen will be mobilizing activists for a national call-in day to congressional candidates next Thursday. It's critical that all candidates for Congress know that the people who they are running to represent expect them to defend Government By the People -- not the corporations.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

Two Good Choices in NY's Governor's Race

Dr. Lenora Fulani says "We have two good choices" in New York's Governor's race and urges a vote for Charles Barron on Freedom Party line or Andrew Cuomo on Independence Party's Column "C". Either vote, says Fulani, advances "twin causes of independent politics and black empowerment." Dr. Fulani is a founder of the Independence Party of New York. Cuomo received the state party's endorsement for Governor in May. Councilmember Charles Barron, also a candidate for Governor, needs 50,000 votes this November to obtain ballot status for the fledgling Freedom Party.



I attended an New York City Independence Party Executive meeting last night and we discussed how this campaign could play out.

NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us