NYC Mayor de Blasio Calls on Board of Elections to Add More Machines and Staff
Today, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio called upon the Board of Elections (BOE) to increase the numbers of voting machines and staff available. This comes after a the widespread reports of the massive turnouts of New Yorkers, over the past weekend, voting for the 2020 Presidential Election.
Videos and photos can be found all over social media documenting the long lines at polling sites throughout the city.
“You know, long lines tell people to go home. Long lines at a poll site discourage voting, they don’t encourage it,” said the Mayor.
“We cannot at this crucial moment see people discouraged. Here’s what I’m calling on the Board of Elections to do. Right away the BOE must increase the number of voting machines and must ensure the staff is available at early voting sites to help people vote quickly and efficiently … and not be discouraged from voting.”
The Mayor mentioned that there are plenty of voting machines on hold for Election Day and how they need to be put into action now for early voting. He also said that the hours for weekend (currently from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm) need to be expanded.
Should the BOE say there that there aren’t enough funds, he stated that the city would provide the necessary resources.
He also reminded New Yorkers of how to easily find one’s early voting polling site through a visit to Voting.nyc
Opinion:
Our posting from yesterday went over the reason behind such long lines and long waits. Many individuals are reporting having waited on line for hours. Yet, a meager 87 early voting sites barely compares with the 1,228 sites available on Election Day.
Furthermore, there is as well the bottleneck effect created by single long lines waiting to vote. Having multitudes on a single line awaiting entry into an indoor facility doesn’t help regardless of how many additional machines are present within. If, on the other hand, there were additional polling site then that would make a tremendous difference in our honest opinion.