Election Day Wrap Up

For Immediate Release:

Contact: Susan Lerner

November 7, 2012

212-691-6421

Election Day Wrap Up

Statement re Responsibility for Chaotic Elections in NYC

Yesterday, Common Cause/NY participated in a variety of Election Day activities including:

Staffing a voter hotline with NYPIRG which received over 1,000 calls and complaints about the voting process in New York State.

Organizing over 50 volunteers to go into shelters on Monday to connect displaced voters with correct Election Day information.

Fielding volunteer poll monitors assigned to 12 of the busiest polling places in New York City to help voters.

Fielding volunteer poll monitors with NYCLU who helped voters in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, and Poughkeepsie

PollWatchUSA, a mobile website which allowed voters to report problems at the polls via smart phone. PollWatchUSA received 307 reports from 287 locations (mostly in NYC). Reports were as follows:

88: long lines, 142: good experience, 73: “other”, 4: couldn’t vote.

1,756 unique visitors, 3,900 page views

Detailed reports and full map here: http://www.pollwatchusa.org/viz

“On the day after another chaotic election in New York City, the Board of Elections is everyone’s favorite pinata. Elected officials like to line up and take swipes at it – even those, like the party leaders and legislators, who could actually do something to change election administration for the better score points attacking the Board. That’s got to change. The public needs to hold those who actually are responsible for our shameful and embarrassing election debacles accountable: the Party leaders who select the Commissioners to the Board of Elections and hand pick staff members according to party allegiance not job qualification,” said Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause/NY.