QUESTION
What are the barriers to implementing early voting centers facilitating voting across assembly districts in NYC?
4:04:46
·
7 min
Michael J.Ryan explains technological and legal barriers prevent NYC from establishing early voting centers that allow voting across assembly districts.
- Current ballot marking devices lack sufficient memory to handle all ballot styles needed for such voting centers.
- State law mandates reporting election results by election district, further complicating the implementation.
- New voting equipment could address technological issues but introduces significant logistical and financial challenges.
- Implementing new systems before 2026 is unlikely due to the complexities of transitioning during major election cycles and the need for extensive public consultation and financial planning.
Lincoln Restler
4:04:46
Before I just pass it to customer brewer, I do wanna ask one more early voting question.
4:04:50
I certainly believe in New York City Exceptionalism.
4:04:54
We are the best place on earth.
4:04:56
But one of the only one of the ways in which I'm disappointed is that every other county in New York state has early voting centers where voters from any assembly district within the county can go and vote.
4:05:09
And While I applaud you for the increase in total voting early voting sites, that's a good and necessary thing to make it more convenient for people to vote early.
4:05:19
I do think that having hubs at centralized locations that are easy for people to participate in would help increase turnout as well.
4:05:26
And potentially be a more cost effective model than continuing to increase site after site after site.
4:05:33
Are there technological barriers that are preventing you from having singular burrow hubs that could allow for everybody to come in and early vote at that location.
4:05:44
And what will it take for us to overcome it?
Michael J.Ryan
4:05:47
So I I would say that while your statement is true, In fact, it it is, in some respects, the equivalent of being true in word but not being true indeed.
4:06:00
And the reason I say that is the way that the stats are are reported is they centralized locations.
4:06:05
Well, when they started early voting in some of these more rural jurisdictions throughout, New York State, their centralized location was their office.
4:06:14
It was the board office.
4:06:16
Now if anyone wants to come into any of the board office, is we can certainly accept the ballot from any any place located within that borough.
4:06:24
So sometimes when you look at stuff that's purely statistical, you don't necessarily get the big big picture.
4:06:32
That having been said, New York itself is 40, at least 1% of the total number of voters in New York State.
4:06:40
So to compare us to say what they're doing in Chamoun County or anywhere else, is not necessarily a right comparison.
4:06:48
But to your point, yes, right this minute, technology is preventing us from from looking at vote centers, the ballot marking devices that we presently use are in have insufficient memory to handle all of the ballot styles.
4:07:10
One way that that could be, you know, which is highly political, one way that that could be helped is if even for early voting that, we don't report results by election district and simply report results by assembly district.
4:07:26
Because then we would be able to eliminate boatloads of ballot styles.
4:07:32
Because in order for the system to report the data out at the back end, it has to go into the system a certain way.
4:07:40
So if we were gonna report election results by Assembly District, well then, the number of ballot styles that we would need would drop.
4:07:47
If the number of ballot styles that we'd need would drop, then the number of audio files that we would need for any ballot marking device, whether it be the one we presently use or some new one, would also drop.
4:08:00
And now it was back
Lincoln Restler
4:08:02
Are you seriously considering that at this time?
Michael J.Ryan
4:08:05
We can't do it.
4:08:06
The state law says we have to report election results by election district.
4:08:09
And it has to have that breakdown.
4:08:12
I'm sure that there are reasons, legitimate reasons for doing it.
4:08:15
I'm simply pointing out that it presents an impediment to us in terms of how we have to set up the ballot styles and then the you know, what goes how we program the machines.
Lincoln Restler
4:08:28
Without modifications in state law, are there strategies that you were considering that could allow for worldwide, early voting election hubs?
Michael J.Ryan
4:08:36
So with the present equipment that we have, no.
4:08:41
But I guess it was back in August.
4:08:44
The state board of elections approved some some new equipment.
4:08:51
We have taken a look at our calendar.
4:08:54
And we have made a determination internally.
4:08:57
And with the with the approval of the commissioners, First, no responsible elections administrator or elections systems vendor would suggest that it would be a good idea to change voting systems during a presidential election year.
4:09:14
So given the timing of the approval, that became something that was put off into the future.
4:09:22
As we look at the balance of the upcoming election years, we start to look at next year.
4:09:28
Which is now the 2nd year that we would be using ranked choice voting.
4:09:32
Some some people here might have an interest in that.
4:09:36
We're starting to think that, you know, when we first looked at it, a year and a half later, probably not a good idea to, you know, to put out a new voting system in a year where the voters are still getting used to a a more complex way of voting.
4:09:53
And when the moment comes that we sit down with the commissioners and we believe that it's the right time to to start that public conversation and perhaps it's starting today.
4:10:05
We envision engaging in a process.
4:10:09
The way that we engaged in the process going back to 2010 before the machines were were the current machines that we're using.
4:10:17
Were selected by bringing all of the vendors whose new machines got approved.
4:10:24
And having a public conversation about that and a period of public input, which, of course, would include elected officials, but we envision THAT SOME OF THE GOOD GOVERNMENT GROUPS AND REGULAR CITIZENS WILL WANT TO KNOW.
4:10:39
THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMUNITY AND ALL OF THOSE THINGS.
4:10:42
And we do know this.
4:10:44
When that moment in time comes, it is a going to be a substantial expense.
4:10:51
I have not committed to memory.
4:10:53
The cost associated with each of these new items that the vendors are putting out for for sale, but it's going to be substantial.
4:11:03
And it's also going to be something that we would likely have to engage the the the PPP rules with respect to that.
4:11:16
Because as I understand that presently, there is no state requirements contracts or OGS contracts for any of those items.
4:11:24
That we could say, okay, we finished our selection and now we're gonna be able to go ahead and do this.
4:11:29
So it's a lengthy costly process.
Lincoln Restler
4:11:32
But it doesn't sound like you're considering it prior to 2026.
4:11:35
So we'll see what the different procurement vehicle and options you have at that time.
Michael J.Ryan
4:11:40
Well, I don't wanna get ahead of my skis and speak, you you know, fully for the fully for the commissioners.
4:11:46
Let me pass it