New York voting issues

Election and registration information

 * Poll hours for the General Election are 6 a.m. - 9 p.m.


 * Check your registration and find your polling place


 * Vote-NY Voter Education


 * VOTER INFO HOTLINE: 1-800-367-8683

2008 election
For the 2008 election New York used the following voting machines. For a county-by-county list of the specific machines (and the source for this section) see Verified Voting's Verifier tool.

Optical scan machines:
 * Sequoia ImageCast

Assistive Devices for Marking Paper Ballots:
 * Election Systems & Software's AutoMARK Technical Systems AutoMARK VAT

Other
 * Shoup Lever mechanical lever voting machine.

Governmental election authorities
New York State Board of Elections

Website: http://www.elections.state.ny.us/

Contact information:


 * NYS BOARD OF ELECTIONS
 * 40 STEUBEN STREET
 * ALBANY, NY 12207-2108


 * (518) 474-6220
 * TDD/TTY Call the New York State Relay 711


 * County contacts

Election threats

 * Westchester County Spanish-language voting announcement tells voter that Election Day is November 9, 2008. As many as 20,000 were mailed.


 * October 11, 2008. Rensselaer County absentee ballots were sent out listed "Barack Osama" instead of "Barack Obama." 300 ballots were sent, and as of October 10, 2008 only three new ballots have been issued, to voters who called to report the mistake. One voter notes that people who would correct the ballot would invalidate it. It appears to be a typographical error, according to election officials from both sides.

Student voting rights

 * December 2, 2008. Some college students in Queens' 11th Congressional District have been subpoenaed by Republican attorneys to verify their residences. The students are all New York residents; at issue is whether they are legally entitled to vote near the school. Steven H. Richman, the general counsel at the New York City Board of Elections, said that state law allows students to vote at polling locations close to either their home or school addresses. “A college student has the option,” Mr. Richman said. “If you’re living on campus, you have the right to register and vote from that district. Or you can register from your parents’ address. You just can’t vote in two places.” Fewer than 700 votes separate the candidates in the still-undecided 11th District State Senate race, which is seen as key for control of the State Senate.

Felon voting rights
Quoting from an October, 2008 report on "de facto disenfranchisement" (summary)(download PDF) co-published by the Brennan Center for Justice and the ACLU:

"'[I]nterviews with election officials in New York in 2006 revealed that more than a third (38%) of the local boards incorrectly stated that people on probation are ineligible to vote. Most disconcerting, three out of the five New York City boroughs and the New York City Board of Elections were misinformed about the law.'"

State and local non-governmental election organizations
League of Women Voters

LWV of New York, Mrs. Martha Kennedy, President
 * 62 Grand Street
 * Albany, NY 12207
 * Phone: 518-465-4162
 * Fax: 518-465-0812
 * E-mail: lwvny@lwvny.org
 * http://www.lwvny.org/

Local Leagues:
 * Albany County
 * Bedford
 * Bronxville
 * Brookhaven
 * Broome and Tioga Counties
 * Buffalo/Niagara Area
 * Cazenovia
 * Central Nassau
 * Chautauqua County
 * Chemung County
 * Columbia County
 * Cooperstown Area
 * Cortland County
 * East Nassau
 * Geneva
 * Great Neck
 * Greater Oneida Area
 * Harrison
 * Huntington
 * Larchmont/Mamaroneck
 * Livingston County
 * Long Beach
 * Mid-Hudson Region
 * Nassau County
 * New Castle
 * New Rochelle
 * New York City
 * Oneonta
 * Orleans County
 * Plattsburgh Area
 * Port Washington/Manhasset
 * Rensselaer County
 * Rockland County
 * Rochester Metropolitan Area
 * Rye, Rye Brook and Port Chester
 * Saratoga County
 * Saugerties
 * Scarsdale
 * Schenectady County
 * Schuyler
 * Shelter Island
 * Smithtown
 * Somers
 * Southwest Nassau
 * Steuben County
 * Suffolk County
 * Syracuse Metro
 * The Hamptons
 * The Rivertowns
 * Tompkins County
 * Utica Metro Area
 * Westchester County
 * White Plains

FairVote NYC


 * Website: http://www.fairvote.com/?page=2185

Contact information:
 * Lynne Serpe
 * email [mailto:lynne@fairvote.org lynne@fairvote.org]
 * Phone 646-202-0825

New Yorkers for Verified Voting


 * Website: http://nyvv.org

Description : Founded by Bo Lipari, NYVV is a non-partisan, not-for-profit corporation of New York State, educating and organizing on issues surrounding voting and elections in the 21st century. With organized advocacy and education, our goal is to ensure that all eligible citizens can vote, and that their votes will be accurately counted.

Voter Action New York


 * Website: http://www.voteraction.org/states/newyork

Resources:


 * New York State Board of Elections Contact Info
 * Description: In New York State, the State Board of Elections is the agency responsible for elections. Decisions are made by 4 commissioners appointed to 2 year terms.

External articles

 * Eric Reinagel "New voting machine already has two votes", pressconnects.com, Greater Binghamton, NY, November 4, 2008