[BwayDems] Information for Election Day

[Paula Diamond Roman]

Dear New
  York County Democrats: 



This e-mail is to
advise of the status of New York County poll sites and the administration of the
upcoming General Election. 

 

During Hurricane
Sandy, New York County suffered substantially. Residents were injured and some
killed; property was damaged; and many are still without power, including many
buildings used as poll sites. 

 

The New York City
Board of Elections has been working closely with state and city government to
marshal assets and resources to ensure the proper conduct of the election. Con Edison has publicly stated that all electrical
power in Manhattan will be restored by Saturday, November 3rd.
We are currently surveying all Manhattan poll sites to ensure their usability for
Tuesday. 

 

While the New
York City Board of Elections is working on the assumption that electrical power
will be restored countywide, some buildings remain flooded or suffered damage
so severe that a visual inspection in necessary to decide if the site will be
functional. This is a fluid situation, so more information will come as it is acquired.


 

In addition to
some of the chaos that the storm has created, due to redistricting, many voters
will be going to new poll sites in new districts. Notices were mailed by the
Board of Elections to all registered voters apprising of the existing election
districts and current poll sites. Please review those notices, and if you do
not have one, you may find your polling site on the Board of Elections website.

 

A great number of
Manhattan poll sites are located in public schools,
and the Department of Education has been diligent and offered many essential
resources in order to ensure these schools are reopened by Monday, November 5th.
The use of these public spaces for poll sites and the City’s efficiency in the
recovery efforts has been tremendous and bodes well for the conduct of Election
Day operations. 

 

The New York City
Board of Elections general office at 42 Broadway and the Manhattan Borough
Office at 200 Varick Street are in the blackout zone of lower Manhattan, so operations have been moved by the
Board to the Manhattan Voting Machine Facility in midtown. 

 

The electronic
voting systems are ready to be shipped and, assuming that poll sites will be
operable, no delivery problems are anticipated. 

 

Unfortunately
there is a backlog of absentee ballot applications due to the storm’s
suspension of postal activity. The Board of Elections is currently processing
all such applications as quickly and efficiently as possible.

 

Thank you all for
your cooperation and patience during this trying time in Manhattan. Despite the storm, we are looking
forward to a smooth and successful Election Day. 

 

Please e-mail Commissioner
Greg Soumas at GSoumas at yahoo.com with any
questions. He will reply to each inquiry directly.

 

Very truly yours,





Keith Wright







Chairman, New York County Democratic Committee
manhattandems at gmail.com




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