Editorial: Vote in Person, New York

[brooklynite]

New York Times

Any New Yorker who is able to do so ought to vote early and in person.

The news this week that the city’s Board of Elections sent defective absentee ballots to nearly 100,000 voters makes this need clear.

...snip...

In addition, New Yorkers should remember that they can now vote early, thanks to state election reforms signed into law last year. Early voting starts on Oct. 24 for the November election. (New Yorkers can find their polling location at the B.O.E. website.) That change, which was long overdue, will help mitigate crowds and allow in-person voting to happen more safely during the coronavirus pandemic — though the practice is thought to be relatively low risk at any rate.

The bigger issue is that, even with New York’s election reforms, it should be easier to vote here, and everywhere in the United States. Mr. Cuomo and the State Legislature could help by fixing the law governing the city’s B.O.E. State election law requires that local election boards be made up of commissioners chosen by each political party. The 10 commissioners who make up New York City’s election board are nominated by political parties in each borough. A better idea: The state should create a nonpartisan body to administer elections, and to set clear standards for those appointees.

[democrattotheend]

1. I plan on voting in person

I am glad to know that early voting is an option now, although it sort of was in 2016 as well. In 2016 you could go to your county board of elections and they gave you a ballot with the option to fill it out there or send it back by mail.

I'm still on the fence about whether to go to Pennsylvania on election day like I usually do. I got a text about doing voter protection in Philly, which I would love to do, but I've been hesitant to sign up because I'll be 7.5 months pregnant by then and I don't know if I'll be up for it. But I'm going to vote early in New York just in case.

[brooklynite]

2. Many States will be setting up telephone voter protection hotlines...

...that out of State people can volunteer for. We'll be helping out with North Carolina.

[democrattotheend]

3. Yeah, I was thinking of doing that instead

But it makes me sad, because I've volunteered in Philadelphia on or near election day in every election since I was old enough to vote. But the hotline is probably my best option. I may still spend the day in Philly with my family, though, because I don't know if I can bear watching the results with my right-leaning husband who doesn't particularly like Trump but thinks a Biden presidency would be much more dangerous for the country than four more years of Trump.