NYC Mayor Bashes State's Voting System, Calls for 'Action' After Day of Complaints

NEW YORK CITY, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio called on state politicians to immediately reform the state's voting system Tuesday, amid widespread complaints from NYC residents of long lines and broken ballot scanners that deterred some of them from casting their vote in this year's high-stakes presidential election.

"I’ve seen your tweets about long lines and broken scanners," the mayor wrote on Twitter around 1 p.m., halfway through Election Day.

See also: How to Beat the Line at Your NYC Polling Site for the Evening Rush

On top of scanners malfunctioning en masse and lines that wrapped around city blocks, some voters reported being asked for their IDs (illegal in New York state); being told they could only fill out a single column of candidates; being directed to the wrong line or poll site by confused election workers; and even being handed pre-filled ballots, in Queens.

(We're keeping track of all the issues being reported at polling sites across the city Tuesday. A Brooklyn roundup is available here. And here's what's going on in Midtown — where Donald Trump protesters and supporters are out in full force, slowing the voting process down even more — Washington Heights/Inwood, Harlem, the Upper West Side, the Upper East Side, the West Village, the East Village, Gramercy/Murray Hill and Tribeca/FiDi. With more updates to come as this zany day marches forth, to be sure!)

"I hear you & want to share a few thoughts." the mayor wrote in his midday Twitter rant. "First, I applaud NYC voters today for their determination to stand & be counted. Nothing is more important than your vote. Also, let’s thank & be patient with our poll workers. Without them the system simply would not work."

But "that said," the mayor continued, "has it ever been clearer that we need voting reform? We need action here in New York State."

De Blasio outlined three ways he thought state politicians could update New York's lagging system, all of which are offered in dozens of other states:

1. "offer early voting to help avoid long lines"
2. "offer electronic poll books to help streamline the wait time to vote"
3. "offer early 'no excuse' absentee voting

Here's a good explainer as to why No. 1 hasn't gotten very far in Albany, courtesy of DNAinfo. (The short explanation: Blame the Republicans.)

"The work of democracy isn’t limited to Election Day," the mayor wrote, rounding out his rant. "We must continue to work to meet a voting standard worthy of all New Yorkers."

State politicians haven't taken too kindly to the city's recent handling of democracy, either. State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, for one, opened an investigation into the NYC Board of Elections after the Democratic presidential primary elections in April, when Schneiderman said he received more than 1,000 complaints (to his office alone) of late poll-site opening times, malfunctioning ballot machines, confused poll workers, disappearing voter names and more.

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