Restrictive Voter Access: Attorney General's Report Outlines New York Voting Problems, Offers Fixes

After receiving an unprecedented number of complaints from voters during the April primaries, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released a report detailing how the state's strict voting laws have hampered voting, and also suggested remedies to correct the problems.

During the primary, the attorney general's office received 1,500 calls of complaints from voters -- 10 times more than average. The inquiry found New York’s current election system erects significant barriers to voter access in at least two major ways: first, the state’s rules, laws, procedures and practices governing voter registration prevented many New Yorkers from participating in the primary; second, some of the rules governing voting itself restricted voter access to the ballot.

“The voting issues we uncovered during the April primary were widespread, systemic and unacceptable,” said Schneiderman. “The right to vote is the right that protects all other rights. New York must become a national leader by protecting and expanding voting rights throughout the state.”

The majority of complaints received by the attorney general’s office involved barriers posed by voter registration laws and practices. These included "exceedingly restrictive" deadlines for party enrollment in order to vote in primaries, state agencies not transmitting voter information to local boards of election, voters being barred from voting because of board of elections errors and more.

The report, which is available in full here, also outlined solutions -- many of which require new laws. To that end, Schneiderman said he will introduce the 2017 New York Votes Act, which will be a comprehensive suite of bills that will alleviate these problems. It includes:

• Easing voter registration by allowing same-day registration, automatic registration from state and local agencies, online registration and moving up the deadline to change party affiliation.
• Making voting easier by creating an early voting system in New York; making sure polls are open from 6 to 9 p.m. across the state; consolidating all federal, state and local primaries to a single day; and making it easier to obtain absentee ballots.
• Increasing access to ballots by providing ballots in more languages, allowing citizens on parole to vote and increasing training for all poll workers.

Photo: Attorney General's Office