NEW YORK — New York lawmakers rallied for voting rights Thursday on the anniversary of the Capitol riot, when supporters of former President Donald Trump protested the results of the presidential election.
Election dysfunction in New York contributed, to an extent, to the doubts Trump sowed about the process. The 2020 primary between Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and challenger Suraj Patel came down to absentee ballots, and a lawsuit revealed many thousands those ballots were tossed out for technical reasons, or never sent to voters on time in the first place.
Since that day, some aspects of voting in New York have improved. Fewer absentee ballots are thrown out for postmarking issues. And for the first time later this year, New York election officials will be allowed to open absentee ballots earlier, instead of waiting for weeks after Election Day.
Long delayed results that have fueled conspiracy theories over stolen elections.
However, in NY, partisan boards of elections remain a dysfunctional across the state. From a botched mayoral primary count in New York City, to a batch congressional race count upstate.
PIX11 News pressed State Senate Elections Chair Zellnor Myrie about the need for more reform, and he promised it was coming.
“When there are snafus at boards of election, opponents of democracy use that as fuel to call into question the integrity of the election,” Myrie said.
Myrie said his committee has already draw up a 50-page report recommending Board of Elections reform and will be discussing next step this session.
On Wednesday during her State of the State address, Gov. Kathy Hochul voiced support for a New York voting rights act specifically aimed at curbing disenfranchisement of voters of color, and non-English speaking voters.
