Early Voting To Be Discussed At Hearing After NYC Election Chaos

NEW YORK — Lawmakers are set to hold a hearing next week on election reforms that some say could have prevented Tuesday's chaos at New York City's polling places. State Assembly members will hear testimony about "improving access to the polls" through policies such as early voting and no-excuse absentee ballots on Nov. 15 in Manhattan, according to a written notice.

While the hearing was scheduled before Election Day, it will have new relevance following the hours-long waits and broken-down ballot scanners voters encountered in the five boroughs this week.

"Even having to spend a half-hour to cast a ballot is a lot of time for a lot of people," said Assemblyman Charles Lavine (D-Long Island), who chairs the Committee on Election Law. "So the more we can ease the voting experience, the better it is for democracy, and the better it is for the poll inspectors on Election Day."

The city's problems came amid massive turnout for a midterm election that saw Democrats take control of the state Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. Nearly 5.8 million votes for governor had been counted as of Thursday afternoon, about a 47.5 percent increase from 2014's roughly 3.9 million votes.

The mess at the polls moved some Democratic officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio, to call for changes to how New Yorkers vote. Some 37 states offer early voting, and 27 let voters cast absentee ballots without an excuse, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. New York is in neither category.

State Senate Democrats could usher in such changes next year when they take the majority from Republicans, whom Gov. Andrew Cuomo blamed for stalling voting reforms.

"The Republican Senate blocked a significant number of measures that were just non-starters no matter how I pushed and cajoled and charmed, believe it or not, like voting reforms, early voting, no-excuse absentees, et cetera," Cuomo, a Democrat, said in a radio interview Thursday. "The Republicans just did not want people voting because they know there (are) more Democrats in this State than Republicans."

The heavily Democratic Assembly passed a bill to establish early voting in the most recent legislative session, Lavine said. With his party about to take control of the Senate, Lavine said he has "not the slightest doubt" early voting will become a reality.

The hearing will start at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, Nov. 15, at 250 Broadway in Lower Manhattan, where some Assembly members have offices.

(Lead image: Voters cast their ballots in New York City on Nov. 8, 2016. Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)