NEW YORK—To answer the public outcry following the Democratic Primary election last Thursday in which some voters found themselves at the wrong polling place, the New York City Board of Elections (NYCBOE) moved to ask City Council for $1.6 million to send a second round of mail out to inform voters when and where they can vote for the federal elections on Nov. 6.
“One of the main complaints from the voters is they don’t know where to vote,” Commissioner Naomi Barrera said during a commissioner meeting at the NYCBOE headquarters Tuesday.
“We did have redistricting this year. I think it is a phenomenal idea, if we can get the funding.”
Commissioner Juan Carlos Polanco called the decision a “no brainer,” but Commissioner Frederic Umane was not so sure: “I don’t think it is a no brainer. I do not think it is appropriate for us to do more than what is required by the statute. What are we going to do? One? Five? Ten?”
The state statutes require one mailer be sent by August letting voters know where and when to cast their votes, which was done. In addition to the personalized mailers, ads are taken out in newspapers, as well as information on websites and mobile phone applications.
