The Independent View: Why Don't New Yorkers Vote?

Tonight, I attended this discussion.

The moderator was Ekow N. Yankah, a Professor of Law at the Cardozo School of Law and the Co-Chair of the New York Democratic Lawyer's Counsel (NYDLC).

The panel experts were:

- Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Common Cause NY
- Douglas A, Kellner, Co-Chair, New York State Board of Elections
- Benjamin Kallos, Council Member, 5th District, Eastside Manhattan
- Brian Kavanagh, Assemblyman, 74th District, Eastside Manhattan

The discussion began with the panel's standard reasons registered voter do not vote;

1. Long lines at the polls.
2. Lack of information about candidates or issues.
3. Lack of choice.
4. The feeling their vote does not count.
5. Unreadable ballots.
6. Absentee ballots can be challenged by candidates or their lawyers but the voter has no standing in court.

No one spoke about the over 2.8 million registered New York voters who can not vote in the states primary.

The panels suggestions:

1. Electronic registration.
2. Early voting.
3. Same-day registration.
4. Vote by mail.
5. Better Ballot design.
6. Propositional Voting.
7. Instant Run-off Voting.
8. Register 16 year olds, so they are automatically ready to vote when they get to the legal age.

Ben Kallos suggested we should have simulated voting in school to get the youth to learn how important it is to participate in the candidate selection process.

Some one suggested we eliminate the primary and use Instant Run-Off voting with all eligible candidates on the ballot, with a 50% plus 1 the minimum to win.

What are your suggestions to improve voting in your state?

The following statement is by Council Member Ben Kallos, Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee (which oversees the Board of Elections) following a City Council hearing to consider Board of Elections Commissioner appointments:

"Public posting for jobs and an anti-nepotism policy are one step closer to adoption by the Board of Elections, with the three Democratic Commissioner candidates swearing under oath that they will introduce and vote in favor of the reforms at their first meeting. All three Democratic Commissioner candidates affirmed that they would return to testify under oath before the Committee on Governmental Operations upon request without need for subpoenas, ensuring future Commissioner oversight.

Thanks to an unprecedented City Council hearing and public questionnaire to select Democratic Commissioners for the Board of Elections, all of the candidates affirmed support for the recommendations laid out in a 2013 Department of Investigations report. All of this progress was only made possible by a public hearing of the Rules Committee under the leadership of Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito and its Chair Brad Lander. Their steady support for reform of the Board of Elections has already enabled key progress, and I look forward to working with the Commissioners as partners in getting the Board of Elections running properly."