PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Claire Stottlemyer, Advocate at Legal Aid Society
3:20:49
·
3 min
Claire Stottlemyer from the Legal Aid Society testifies about the challenges faced by eligible voters detained in New York City jails, particularly on Rikers Island. She highlights the systemic failures of the Board of Elections and the Department of Corrections in providing adequate access to voting for incarcerated individuals.
- The current absentee ballot system is inadequate, with many detainees being denied their right to vote due to logistical issues and lack of resources.
- Statistics from the November election cycle show significant discrepancies between absentee ballot requests, deliveries, and returns, potentially disenfranchising hundreds of voters.
- Stottlemyer advocates for establishing polling sites within jails and improving the absentee ballot process to ensure equal ballot access for detained New Yorkers.
Claire Stottlemyer
3:20:49
Thank you, chair Ressler and council member Brewer, for the opportunity to testify before you today.
3:20:54
Thank you for your support of people who are detained in New York City jails as well.
3:20:59
My name is Claire Stottlemeyer.
3:21:00
I work at the Legal Aid Society, and I'm a member of the Vote in New York City Jail Jail Coalition, which is composed of directly impacted New Yorkers, legal service providers, civic engagement groups, elected officials that was created in 2020 to address the unmet needs of eligible voters who are detained in New York's jails.
3:21:17
In New York, anyone who is detained while serving a misdemeanor conviction or because they cannot afford their bail is eligible to vote.
3:21:24
On Rikers Island as of December 3rd, that is at least 5,924 individuals who retain that right.
3:21:31
There are no voting sites in New York City jails, and therefore, detained New Yorkers who wish to vote are at the mercy of the Department of Correction each election day.
3:21:39
Accordingly, the majority of New Yorkers detained on Rikers Island who regularly have their rights violated, their voices silenced, and their humanity denied to them by this agency and its actors also have their fundamental right to vote taken from them.
3:21:53
Our coalition provides New Yorkers at Rikers Island vital education and necessary paperwork for absentee ballot requests.
3:22:00
The coalition also advocates with lawmakers and city agencies to improve the voting process for detained New Yorkers, including calling for a polling site within the jail.
3:22:09
Our experience working with eligible voters at Rikers Island has revealed the systemic failures of both the Board of Elections and the Department of Corrections to provide true access to the ballot under the absentee ballot framework.
3:22:21
The time frames prescribed for an absentee ballot naturally excludes people entering detention facilities close to an election day, while logistical impediments out of a detained person's control routinely prevent them from accessing not the necessary forms.
3:22:36
For those who successfully request those forms, many still face barriers to having their vote counted.
3:22:42
As a result of the many steps involved and inadequate resources provided, voters at Rikers are frequently denied their right to vote.
3:22:49
When absentee ballots are delivered to the BOE, they may still be rejected and voters are not provided an explanation or opportunity to cure.
3:22:59
The figures from this past election cycle are detailed in our written submission, but briefly for November, the Department of Corrections submitted 1422 requests for absentee ballots, but received just 977 back from the BOE.
3:23:12
Accordingly, up to 445 incarcerated voters who requested absentee ballots wrong were may have been wrongfully denied their opportunity to vote.
3:23:21
Of the 977 ballots that DOC did receive, the DOC returned 598 to the BOE, an additional loss of 379 voters.
3:23:31
It is unknown to us how many of the 598 ballots were ultimately counted by the BOE this November.
3:23:38
It is also our understanding from the Department of Correction that 0 voters detained on Rikers were given the opportunity to cure their ballot.
3:23:45
While both agencies passed responsibility off to the other, the impact upon communities of color who are detained is devastating.
3:23:52
92% of individuals currently detained in New York City jails are non white.
3:23:56
If we truly care about fair and free elections and full participation in the democratic process, we must ensure equal ballot access for New Yorkers who are in our jails, most of whom are awaiting trial and are cloaked in the presumption of innocence.
3:24:09
The absentee ballot voting system will always leave detained voters behind, and one person disenfranchised is still too many.
3:24:15
New York City should join the other counties throughout the country to provide polling sites in our jails, and we should also strengthen the out absentee ballot process by requiring that the BOE and the Campaign Finance Board facilitate the voting program, ensuring voters have direct access to the agency responsible, including their registration forms, education materials, and absentee ballot requests.
3:24:35
New Yorkers who are detained in jails must be given the same opportunity to cure their ballots as those who are not, and it is the responsibility of the board of elections to ensure that each voter's voice is heard.
3:24:45
Thank you.
