De Blasio slams long early voting lines, supports future BOE reform
Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo finally agreed on something Monday, slamming New York’s Board of Elections for its handling of early voting, as historic turnout over the first few days saw polling places swamped with hours-long lines.
“The Board of Elections was clearly not prepared for this kind of turnout and needs to make adjustments immediately to be able to support all New Yorkers who want to take part,” said de Blasio during his daily press briefing.
Hizzoner — who noted that he and First Lady Chirlane McCray will cast their ballots on Tuesday — said that allowing the winding lines seen citywide over the weekend to continue would send the wrong message to voters.
“Long lines, tell people to go home,” he said. “That’s just the reality.
“We cannot at this crucial moment see people discouraged,” he added — even though some patient voters have told The Post they’re actually heartened to see the high turnout, despite the longer wait.
He declined, however, to characterize the lapses as “voter suppression,” as firebrand liberal New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did on Sunday.
“I don’t think there’s a conspiracy at the Board of Elections, I think there’s incompetence at the Board of Elections,” he said. “I’m not saying it’s a conspiracy and I’m not saying it’s willful.”
In a later press briefing of his own in Albany, Cuomo agreed with de Blasio’s stinging assessment.
“I think the Board of Elections in New York City did a terrible job,” the governor said. “Terrible.
“[The] New York City Board of Elections blew it.”
Cuomo added that he “would be open to an entire re-design of the New York City Board of Elections system … from the ground up.”
The mayor had earlier said that he would “happily” work with Cuomo on legislation to reform the BOE down the road, including for the 2021 elections, calling the party-run system a “vestige of a corrupt past” dating to the political machine at Tammany Hall.
The city BOE consists of 10 commissioners — two from each borough — nominated by bosses of the Democratic and Republican parties, and approved by the City Council without mayoral input.
In the short-term, de Blasio called on the BOE to take a series of steps to fix the process, with Election Day bearing down.
They include: Bringing online new voting machines currently in storage until Nov. 3; ensuring that ample staffing is available at the city’s 88 early voting sites; and expanding voting hours for next weekend from its current run of 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
De Blasio assured the BOE that if their concern is funding, the city will open its coffers to bring the changes to fruition.
“There’s nothing more sacred than our democratic process,” he said. “To the Board of Elections: Your moment has come. Let’s get it right now.”