NEW YORK — Following the Board of Elections monumental primary results mix-up, New York state Sen. Liz Krueger is championing a bill that would “professionalize” the embattled agency.
The Manhattan Democrat is the lead sponsor of legislation that would modernize the leadership of the board, set training requirements and qualifications for employees and boost reporting and accountability measures.
“At the Board of Elections we’re still dealing with a 19th-century model of patronage where 10 unelected commissioners are appointed by party bosses,” Krueger said during an appearance Friday on WNYC.
The bill, introduced earlier this year, was not voted on before the end of the legislative session in June.
While the Legislature is not expected to return to Albany until January, the Board’s misreporting of results in the Democratic mayoral primary earlier this week has renewed interest in the legislation.
The Board of Elections is facing a firestorm of criticism after publishing and then rescinding mayoral primary results Tuesday after admitting staffers accidentally included 135,000 test ballots in the numbers.
Results in what was the city’s first attempt at ranked-choice voting aren’t expected for another two weeks as absentee ballots are counted.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, has vowed to hold hearings following the debacle.
“The situation in New York City is a national embarrassment and must be dealt with promptly and properly,” Stewart-Cousins said. “In the coming weeks, the Senate will be holding hearings on this situation and will seek to pass reform legislation as a result at the earliest opportunity.”
A systematic overhaul of election boards in New York would require a change to the state Constitution, but Krueger’s bill, also sponsored by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, a Queens Democrat, could bring needed changes to how the troubled city board operates in the interim.
The bill would add accountability components for the co-executive directors of the board, who would be chosen through a majority vote of the mayor, the speaker of the city council and the public advocate, rather than appointed by parties.
It would also create training and continuing education requirements for commissioners, staff as well as co-directors.
Susan Lerner, the executive director of good government group Common Cause NY, expressed optimism that state lawmakers will take action soon, pointing out the myriad changes made since Democrats won the majority in 2019 from early voting to expanding the use of absentee ballots.
“With the reform effort, I think there is an increasing spirit in Albany. Look at all of the progress we’ve made in voting reform,” she said. “And we’re all going to move forward we’re not going to go back. We’re going to build the board of elections that the voters want and deserve and we’re going to use this as a growth opportunity.”
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