Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
AGENCY TESTIMONY
Mark Landis's testimony for Manhattan Democratic Commissioner of the Board of Elections
0:03:19
ยท
171 sec
Mark Landis presents his qualifications and vision for the role of Manhattan Democratic Commissioner of the NYC Board of Elections. He emphasizes his commitment to expanding voting opportunities, his experience as a Democratic Party activist, and his legal background.
- Highlights 40 years of Democratic Party activism and legal experience
- Discusses his pro bono work on voting rights and election machine integrity
- Expresses readiness to work on election administration and adapt to changing laws
Mark Landis
0:03:19
Good morning, madam speaker, chairman powers, council members.
0:03:23
My name is Mark Landis.
0:03:25
It's my privilege to be here before you today to, tell you a bit about myself and, seek your, approval to become the next Manhattan Democratic, commissioner of the, board of elections.
0:03:37
I am a forty year Democratic Party activist committed always to expanding voting opportunity, and this is a place where I hope that working with you and other legislators that I will be able to continue to build on that kind of work from the inside as opposed to just from the outside.
0:03:59
I also know that there's a lot of work ahead in terms of administering elections.
0:04:05
The laws change frequently.
0:04:07
And I look forward to working with colleagues both in government and the volunteers who make up such an important part of the process to ensure that everybody has all the tools they need and all the resources they need to be able to ensure that we have an open and fair voting system.
0:04:26
And as a long time attorney and also the managing partner of a medium sized law firm, I bring administrative and managerial experience that I hope will enable me to work with my colleagues at the board to find ways in which the board can work most effectively.
0:04:47
My litigation before the board of elections, of course, will come to an end.
0:04:52
I am not a frequent litigator there.
0:04:55
I am particularly proud of two pro bono matters that I've worked on in the last few years.
0:05:03
One, to restore voting rights to a federal prison releasee under the CARES Act to ensure that they would have the same rights as New York State prisoner releasees would do, and excited to see that the state is making that information known to prisoners as they are released, and hopefully, we can use some moral suasion on the federal government to do the same over time.
0:05:28
And I've worked closely with Common Cause and the Black Institute in looking to challenge the approval of election machines at the state level that don't meet the kinds of tests that we wanna see in terms of verifiable voter trails.
0:05:43
I've served as a Democratic, party district leader for twenty years and now as a member of the Democratic state committee for the last six years.
0:05:52
I also work closely with, interfaith organizations to promote democratic and small d democratic and progressive values both locally and worldwide.
0:06:05
So I thank you for your consideration, and I'm happy to answer any questions you might have for me.