NYC Board of Elections Expands Early Voting Site List to 57

Board of Elections Expands Early Voting Poll Site List to 57. That May Not Stop the City from Suing, Though.

By Courtney Gross New York City

PUBLISHED 7:18 PM ET May 31, 2019 PUBLISHED May 31, 2019 @7:18 PM

It was a somewhat rare occasion lately: Elected officials in Queens were praising the New York City Board of Elections on Friday.

"The Board of Elections doubled the amount of sites in Queens."

"I just want to join my colleagues at all levels of government in thanking the Board of Elections for making this happen."

"Board of Elections has been hard at work, trying to find suitable locations," said State Sen. John Liu of Queens.

Some of the New Voting Reforms in New York

That's because a day before, the board had released a new, expanded list of early poll sites for this fall. 57 poll sites across the five boroughs will operate when New Yorkers for the first time cast their ballots for nine days ahead of Election Day this fall.

"It's a daunting task. We are hard at work at it," said Mike Ryan, the Board of Elections executive director, said at a news conference Friday.

But to one official, it's not good enough. Mayor Bill de Blasio lambasted the board, saying it adding 19 sites to its original selection of 38 is not enough for the city's voters.

Good news: the @BOENYC heard the voices of New Yorkers and increased the number of early voting sites.

Bad news: They're adding ONLY 19 sites. That's not nearly enough for 4.5 million voters.

The BOE has to stop being the biggest obstacle between New Yorkers and their ballots. https://t.co/1xqn8WXLdo
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 30, 2019

"I don't respond directly to elected officials' criticism," Ryan said in response to the tweet. "As we have said all along: this is a work in progress."

Last month, the mayor gave the Board of Elections an ultimatum: open 100 poll sites for early voting this fall and get $75 million.

Ryan told NY1 that the board still needs the money even if it doesn't open 100 sites.

"Absolutely, we need every bit of that money to do this," he said.

Earlier in the week, the mayor said the city would take action if the board didn't meet its demand.

"If they do not do that, we will consider all options possible to make them create an early voting program that works for everyday New Yorkers, and we'll certainly consider legal action among those potential steps," de Blasio said at a rally Tuesday.

"If someone should bring an action, we make our case in court," Ryan says.

City BOE Testing New Machines for Early Voting — Including Some from a Favored Vendor

A spokeswoman for de Blasio said Friday that City Hall is currently weighing its options and examining whether the board is violating the Voting Rights Act.

------

Looking for an easy way to learn about the issues affecting New York City?

Board of Elections Expands Early Voting Poll Site List to 57. That May Not Stop the City from Suing, Though.

LATEST NEWS