On April 14th I posted a story (which I have now deleted) that stated the voting hours for many people living in New York state had been “cut by six hours” if they lived in a county outside NYC, its suburbs and Erie County.
While it is true that voters in those other counties will have six less hours in which to cast their votes in the New York Primary on Tuesday, it was misleading of me to say that those hours had been cut, or to imply that this was something new for this election cycle.
The simple fact is that all primary elections held in New York have, in effect, suppressed the vote of people who live outside downstate New York (and Buffalo) by limiting the hours the polls are open for decades.
The law is a peculiarity that vexes early-rising voters and elections boards alike, not to mention reinforces stereotypes of downstate superiority.
“The varying hours of operating for polling places strike at the heart of one’s voting rights,” state Supreme Court Justice Lawrence Kahn wrote in finding the law unconstitutional in 1982. “A farmer in his pickup truck is entitled to the same opportunity to vote in a primary as a subway commuter.”
Kahn, who is now a federal judge, was right. That hasn’t mattered for years, though, because he was reversed on appeal and the state’s highest court upheld that extending voting hours for some New Yorkers and not others was “reasonable.”
Unfortunately, Justice Kahn’s decision was overruled. And ever since them, this separate and unequal treatment of voters simply on the basis of where they live has continued to exist. Welcome to New York, a state just as politically corrupt as Illinois or New Jersey, if not moreso.
Nonetheless, I let my umbrage at obvious inequity of allowing some voters more hours to vote than others get the better of my judgment. I’m sorry. That was wrong of me. And I should have corrected my mistake sooner. Again, the errors in that post are mine alone and I accept full responsibility for it.
I’m not a journalist, but I should have done my homework on this matter. I can only ask your forgiveness for this mistake, though I cannot and do not expect those of you who were misled in any way by my story to give it to me.
Aside from the correction and apology herein, what I do wish to impress upon everyone in states yet to hold their primaries, especially those in New York, is to make sure you know what the polling hours are where you live and what election laws may apply that could effect you ability to cast your vote. Call your local election boards, or look them up online, to find out where your polling place will be, how long it will be open on election day, the status of your voter registration, and if any ID will be required to vote in your state.
For voters in New York state that means that, unless you live in New York City or the counties of Erie, Putnam, Orange, Suffolk, Nassau, Rockland and Westchester (where the polls open at 6 A.M.), your polling place will not be open until NOON on Tuesday April 19th.
In addition, New Yorkers who live in counties in which the polls do not open until noon, should be prepared for possible delays due to overcrowding. Hopefully it won’t come anywhere near what we witnessed in Arizona earlier this year, but the higher the turnout, the likelier you may have to wait in line to cast your vote.
Again, my deepest and sincerest apology to all for the poor judgment I displayed in my earlier, incorrect story regarding this matter posted here on April 14th.
This is the second or third time you’ve had to delete a post when your passion overrides your judgement. May I suggest that before posting in anger, you instead take a deep breath and do your due diligence of fact-checking? It will make future deleting unnecessary, and will help make you a better writer.
I say this with good will, and not as a putdown. As writers, we depend on our credibility. Passion is good, but accuracy is more impirtant.
I agree, brendan: you’ve said exactly what I wanted to say.
Yes, Steven. I share this fault of yours, because we are both passionate men, but it’s better to be a good Sicilian, keep your face impassive (the Sicilian Mask) and strike later. Hot blood is a tool your enemies will use.
I hope you didn’t wipe out all the posts because there was some good advice for all voters in that thread.
You’re right though, it is disgraceful. I hope something can be done about it eventually, meaning in the not too distant future.
I’m a New Yorker myself, but I never knew about this because I’m from NYC.
But since this is nothing new, it’s somewhat of a relief because we can assume that the voters, as well as all the campaign staff who, among other things, will be helping folks get to the polls, are certainly aware of it and will have planned for it.
I believe an absentee ballot can be used if your schedule makes it impossible to get to the polls. Of course you have to apply in time to get an absentee ballot.
Your conclusion is certainly correct: NY voting laws suck.
Well, at least the fact that it’s been in place for so long should mitigate the procedural unfairness.
Here is another baneful consequence of New York’s restrictive voting laws, highly relevant to Sanders :
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/nyregion/in-sanders-working-families-party-sees-a-dream-it-cant-vo
te-for-on-tuesday.html
Nevertheless, the WFP is doing a lot for Bernie.