New Yorkers Call for City Election Reform

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The New York Sun

A chorus of political voices called for reforms yesterday in response to the long lines and overwhelmed voting sites exposed in the city during Tuesday’s presidential election.


Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Gifford Miller, and election watchdog groups criticized the city Board of Elections for its Election Day performance and said improvements were badly needed.


Forty-year-old poll machines, untrained poll workers, improperly enforced new photo identification laws, and improper treatment of immigrants were just some of the complaints reported. The board’s Web site and phone bank were also down for two days, adding credibility to the view that they were not prepared for the record voter turnout.


“It was obviously a mess, but we need to tell us in terms of their call volume what is necessary,” Mr. Miller said referring the board.


The executive director of the board, John Ravitz, said his agency responded as best it could, but that requests for more money from the city were denied.


Mr. Miller acknowledged that the City Council could do more and said it would consider allocating more money for the upgrades.


Many of the changes the council called for though, like early voting and same day registration, will need to be acted on by the state legislature.


The city is supposed to upgrade to electronic voting machines by 2006.


The New York Sun

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