Saturday, November 3, 2012

Sandy situation may lead to voter disenfranchisement

From the Daily News:

With Election Day less than 72 hours away, the hardest-hit states were scrambling on Friday to put together alternative arrangements for polling sites that were destroyed, lost power or rendered otherwise inaccessible after Hurricane Sandy.

Voting will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 6, as scheduled, but scores of polling stations will likely be moved or operating off generators, election officials said. In New Jersey, paper ballots will be used and military trucks will serve as polling sites in some areas. New Yorkers are dealing with a “fluid” situation, said John Conklin, spokesman for the New York State Board of Elections.

“We are doing an assessment of power, safety, and the ability to get voting machines in and out of the facilities,” Conklin told the Daily News on Friday. “We will decide if and when to move a polling station once that is done,” he said.

In areas of Staten Island and Queens, flooding was so severe that some sites might not be accessible. The Staten Island Board of Elections office had to close. So too did the Manhattan office, which is now sharing space at the Borough's Voting Machine Facility.
There’s no set timeline as to when a polling station will be moved ahead of Tuesday, Conklin said. He stressed conditions are “constantly changing. It’s a fluid situation.”

A lower voter turnout in New York and New Jersey was unlikely to impact the presidential race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney because “they are both blue states,” he said.

But local and state elections could be swayed.


80 polling places need to be relocated.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ain't gonna happen. Heard an interesting story today to share with you all.

On R I one polling place is in one of the hospitals that also serves one of the big residential buildings.

The hospital is closed. When the call went out to elections to come to look at the situation to assess the situation and to move the poling place, they said they could not respond at that time.

Their car had no gas.....

Now multiply this dozens of times.

Anonymous said...

Not every act that makes it more difficult to vote is disenfranchisement.

In order to be disenfranchised there needs to be intent.

Who are we going to blame now...God?

I am so tired of this newly introduced term by the left which seems to denote malicious intent and generalized inequity.

This country is fast becoming a joke with many imagined slights.

ex.gov.a.schwarzenegger said...

"It's a flooid zituayshun". Hahr-hahr, zat was anudder gut von!

Anonymous said...

The city is disenfranchising those in the flood zones by not providing polling locations for them, transportation to the polls and information about where to vote. They may have to hold the federal election on Nov 6, but the local elections should be postponed until adequate plans can be formulated.

Anonymous said...

Anon No. 2: No one in this article is discussing this as a matter of liberals vs. conservatives, You're the one making a political issue of it.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous #5,

Just because most everyone is a sheep doesn't mean there is no objective manifestation of a political sensibility.

Lets have the vote...and those that can vote vote...those that cant ...cant...

but delaying this for another 20 days or whatnot [where ideas like this clearly are leading to]...

is democracy run amok.

This country needs to move on already.

- Anonymous #2

Anon No. 5 said...

Anon No. 2/6: Who is suggesting that the election be postponed? I certainly am not.

Anonymous said...

Number 4 suggested the local elections be postponed.

Anonymous said...

I've got a choice to make between a drunken, womanizing, lunatic with a G-d complex...Dan Halloran...and a crook's daughter who's most likely tied to a nefarious Oriental tong like her father...Grace Meng.

WTF is the difference?
I've already been disenfranchised by circumstances beyond my control!

I think I'll do a Donald Duck write in.

Anon No. 5 said...

Anon No. 8:

My point is that very few, if any people in either political party, left or right, has suggested postponing the election. There is no reason for it not to.

The people in this region have suffered through enough already. Why subject them to twenty more days of the campaigns and campaign commercials?

Anonymous said...

WHAT ARE WE GONNA VOTE FOR .....A BUNCH OF LYING, CRIMINAL, SELF-CENTERED ASSHOLES.

Queens Crapper said...

From the NY Post:

Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver pointed out that there’s a provision in the election law for adding another day of voting if there’s a catastrophe that results in less than 25 percent of registered voters going to the polls.

John Conklin, a spokesman for the state board, confirmed that the board has the power to add one day of voting no later than 20 days after Election Day if the numbers come in at that level in any county, including one of the five boroughs.

Anonymous said...

We don't get much service from our pols, like Halloran, during the good times. Why should they care now?
Maybe "doofy" Dan will hold a hurricane recovery beer blast.
If you're Joey Franco (White house Restaurant) you get express service from the councilman, every time.

If you do one thing on Tuesday...KEEP THIS FREAK SHOW OUT OF CONGRESS!

Bite the bullet and vote for Grace Meng.
Even the daughter of a crook is better than having Halloran in Washington.

That's what I'll be doing.

Anonymous said...

if you ned help :councilmemberhalloran@gmail.com or

718-631-6703 (office-district 19)


Anonymous said...

Thanks for the Halloran info, cousin, but you forgot to include the Sullivan's Bar phone number. That's one of the watering holes where "doofy" Dan can be found while Chrissy is left running the district office.

"BURP. Let's have another pint".

Anonymous said...

would you tell us which bell blvd. bars the local dem. pols frequent for" RE-FUELING"?

they do not use disguises, yet. we know where.....but they have the right to indulge in adult beverages. it is still constitutional for both party pols.

you sound like your NANNY RINO mayor.