This post, is the results of reading an Article by, Jerry H. Goldfeder, a Veteran Election Lawyer, who served as Special Counsel, for Public Integrity to then-Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo.
He writes and I agree: Almost every Election Cycle, the New York City, Board of Elections (NYCBOE), embarrasses itself and makes us roll our eyes. This year, when we are desperately trying to emerge from the Pandemic and serious Economic dislocation, the NYCBOE has thrown the Counting of the Ranked-Choice-Voting (RCV) Ballots into Chaos.
It was a Dumb mistake: The NYCBOE included RCV Test Ballots in the Tallying System, instead of Removing them, when they Counted In-Person Ballots from, Early Voting and Same-Day Voting. Not just a few, 135,000 of them.
This is not the First time. Twenty years ago, He Represented a Mayoral Candidate who beat his Opponent by 32,000 Votes. A few days after the Primary, He got a Call that No Election Attorney wants to get. “The numbers were wrong. The board made a mistake. They doubled the totals.” Turned out, his Candidate Won by only 16,000 Votes, sufficiently Close to cause Unending acrimony between the Winner and Runner-Up.
Some times, Ballots are sometimes Discovered Weeks after an Election, Thousands of People are Improperly Purged from the Voter Rolls, or Absentee Ballots are Mailed to Voters at the Wrong Address and too Late to be Cast and Counted.
Having Eliminated the 135,000 Sample Ballots, the NYCBOE has Posted what they say are Accurate In-House RCV Voting Numbers, and Eric Adams maintains his Lead. But the Numbers released, by the Board’s own Admission, are Incomplete.
They do Not include the more than 120,000 Absentee Ballots. So what is the point of releasing incomplete, and necessarily inaccurate, totals? It is Misleading and Confusing. It needlessly raises the hopes of some Candidates and dashes those of others. And when all the Ballots are Counted, from Election Day, Early Voting, and Absentee Voting, and the Results are “changed,” then Cries of Foul will likely be Heard. Why the Board Opted to Run Totals for Partial Results?
In this Context of Erroneous and Misleading “Results,” Candidates are already bringing Lawsuits, including some Down-Ballot Races. These Court Cases are, of course, Premature, because the Board may very well Sort out All the Votes and get Accurate Totals.
State Law Requires Lawsuits relating to Primary Elections to be Commenced within 10 Days of the Primary, well before any Real Results are known. So on top of the Board’s Botch Job, we are already descending into potentially Contentious Litigation over Results that we don’t even know. This can be Fixed easily for Future Elections. Albany can change the Timeline of when Candidates can seek Judicial Intervention. For now, though, these Cases will give the Appearance that Candidates are going to War over the NYCBOE’s Malfeasance.
Also, if the Margin between a Winner and the Second-Place Candidate is One-Half of 1% or less, the State Law allows a Manual Count of All the Ballots in a Race. This means the Board will look at Each and Every Ballot, whether it is a Few Thousand in a City Council Race or Close to a Million in the Mayoral Race. Can you imagine if the Actual Totals in a Citywide Race are so Close that it Requires a Manual Count? It could take Weeks and Weeks. So, hope for the Best but Expect the Worst.
He abd I agree, its time to Advising Governor Cuomo (D), to consider Exercising his Broad Pplenary Powers by Putting the Board under Trusteeship, Appointing Nonpartisan Workers, and bringing their Procedures into the 21st Century. That would only be a Temporary Fix.
The New York State Constitution should be Amended to Institutionalize the kind of Independent Professionalism that so many other States have.
I would go further. A New Election Assistance Commission (EAC),s should take Control of Running Federal Electioins with Professional and truly Oversee State and Local Elections.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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