City lawyers filed court papers Monday saying the Board of Elections has no legal basis to block a City Hall initiative to add interpreters to polling sites for Tuesday’s special election for public advocate.
“In order to enjoin the city from implementing its plan, the Board must demonstrate that its claims are likely to succeed on the merits,” the city’s Law Department wrote in response to a board lawsuit.
“Because the board’s arguments are bereft of any legal support and are based on pure speculation, it cannot meet the required legal threshold.”
The city plans to provide interpreters at 48 poll sites — Russian translators are set to go to 40 locations, Haitian Creole speakers to 5, Yiddish speakers at 2 and Polish ones at one. The board sued Friday attempting to block City Hall’s translator program, saying it is the only agency authorized to place them.
“Having a Mayoral agency assist in the conduct of the election, at the very least, gives rise to the appearance of impropriety and, at worst, could provide an opportunity to influence the outcome of the election,” the board argued in Brooklyn Supreme Court.