Shortly after the November 5th election we held two very lively Zoom sessions with any members who wanted to share what they observed personally at polling places. What they shared will help shape our plans for 2025 and we thank them all. They are named below.
Here is some of what we heard:
· Generally speaking, early voting and November 5th voting went smoothly
· Voters often had to wait in line and in a few places the wait was up to an hour or more (e.g. New Paltz)
· We heard about one truly horrible day at a polling place in Orange involving inappropriate partisan behavior by poll workers, politicking in the parking lot, offensive language and more, and Orange seems to be the most volatile of the three counties. We hope such things are rare!
· In an effort to avoid confrontations poll workers in Dutchess and Orange were instructed not to force people to remove or cover up clothing that favored a party, a candidate or a political issue.
· There was a widespread lack of privacy folders in Dutchess for no apparent reason.
· While there were some minor, scattered voter intimidation efforts, we didn’t hear of many.
There were not a lot of POLL WATCHERS and those who came did not appear to create many problems. One of our good LWV members was a poll watcher and was frustrated by the efforts of the poll workers to make her keep her distance, since it meant she really couldn’t see what was going on -yet we know that voter privacy needs to be protected. Since poll watchers often serve a good purpose, we will learn more about how these rules can work better for all.
A lot of AFFADAVIT BALLOTS had to be issued to people who didn’t appear on the poll pads. Presidential elections do bring out many occasional voters and many had moved. If the Board of Elections can find the person listed at another district in our state, it is likely to accept that person’s vote.
VOTERS’ NEEDS: We were surprised by the number of questions voters had about the process, e.g.
· How to fill in the boxes
· What “Write In” is for
· Which way do we vote – across or down?
· Can/should they vote on more than one line forthe same person
Further basic voter training is needed – perhaps a video that can be shared on our website and beyond. New voters might be less reluctant to come vote if they know they won’t look foolish.
BALLOT ISSUES are often poorly understood and there is very limited information on the ballot itself. Ulster BOE had poll workers give voters their ballots with the “issues” side up and had signs inside the voting “booths” reminding voters to turn over their ballots – both great improvements. But it is hard for most voters to find sufficient information about the issues in advance, even on the BOE sites.
We will follow up with the Boards of Elections (including the state BOE) to expand our understanding beyond these personal observations and to discuss ways to work with them to make the voting experience better for all. We will also be pursuing ways to counter the ever-expanding DIS- and MIS-INFORMATION that is poisoning the voting process. We need voters to trust the process and operate from the same set of facts.
We thank the following people who participated in these two Zoom discussions:
Lisa Bretherick, Fay Casatuta, Cecily Frazier, Ann Kanter, Pat Lamanna, Diane Perea, Jane Simkin Smith from Dutchess; Candy Frisbie, Leslie Simons from Orange; and Cindy Bell, Helen Chase, March Gallagher, Karen Goertzel, Manna Jo Greene. Susan Holland, Christine Hunter, Cindy Lanzetta, Vic Melville, Karen Miller, Margaret Sellers, Dare Thompson, Gloria Waslyn from Ulster. (If your name is missing, tell us!)