Election Day in New York City: So Far, So Good

Election Day in New York City: So Far, So Good

By Yehudit Garmaise

   Although Mayor Bill de Blasio pointed out that it is very likely that voters will hear clear election results by tonight, tomorrow, or maybe even by the end of the week, he is calling today a “celebration” because “so many New Yorkers have already turned out to vote.”

    The mayor pointed out with obvious happiness that 1.1.million New Yorkers voted in Early Voting.

     “I am so proud of you,” the mayor said. “Whomever you voted for, it doesn’t matter, the point is that you voted, you cared, you made an impact already. In this whole country, it is astounding now how many people have voted already: around 100 million votes cast already. That is stunning, and that is a good, good sign for our future.”

   It is gratifying to see our unity in upholding our democracy,” the mayor continued. “We are expecting a great turnout today. We are excited about voting, and we are expecting an orderly voting process as well.”

  To ensure that the voting process stays peaceful, the mayor employed hundreds of election day observers throughout the five boroughs to monitor any instances of voter intimidation. 

   Mayor de Blasio continues to encourage every New Yorker to vote, as he pointed out that the polls will be open until 9pm, and those polls will stay open until everyone in that line has voted.

   The mayor advised voters who have filled out absentee ballots to drop them off at any poll site instead of mailing them in at this point because absentee ballots have to be postmarked by the day of election to be counted.

   “You don’t want to put it in a mailbox and find out that it wasn’t counted because it wasn't stamped with today’s date on it,” the mayor said.

  Deputy Mayor J. Philip Thompson reported that “most poll sites opened on time, and they appear to be operating fine.”

   Thompson said that it is not acceptable that some polls open late, and those problems have  been reported these problems to the Board of Elections.

    As the mayor has said earlier, we will be following up on ways to reform the Board of Elections starting tomorrow because New Yorkers deserve better,” Thompson said.

  “The currently board of elections doesn’t run the elections the way we need to: it is not fair to people so I am hoping that this moment that this moment when everyone is really focused on voting is going to be the moment that change happens.”

 Among the problems reporters brought up on Election Day were long lines, Wi-Fi connectivity issues, and confusion over voters who mailed in ballots who were also voting in person.

   “There is going to be legislation that is going to happen immediately to empower executive direct of board of elections to make it a more professional agency,” the mayor said. That would help with the kind of issue you are talking about here. I fear that until we change the board of elections, these kinds of problems will be persistent.”