Early Voting Sites Could Endanger Kids, Murray Hill Parents Fear

MURRAY HILL, NY — Murray Hill parents want the city to bar public schools from being used as polling places as they worry voters could pose a safety risk to their kids.

Parents at the Murray Hill elementary school P.S. 116 have scrutinized the decision to place polling sites at schools during the inaugural nine-day early voting period because the gym will be closed and the building will be more accessible to the public.

A Change.org petition started by Gilberte Lal has garnered more than 1,000 signatures, saying "We are for early voting, but not in public schools!"

"Voting should be moved to other public and private buildings, where it will not affect the safety and welfare of our children," reads the petition addressed to Mayor Bill de Blasio and other officials. "Our children's safety is not worth the risk."

The school's parent-teacher association says two events have been rescheduled and gym classes and after-school programs will have to be relocated during early voting, which will allow voters to cast ballots in person ahead of Election Day starting Saturday.

The Department of Education said that two additional safety agents will be on-site, according to Gothamist, which first reported how the department is handling safety concerns.

"We've heard concerns loud and clear, and we're taking action to keep our kids safe and minimize disruption to the school day," Miranda Barbot, an education department spokesperson, said in a statement.

"Parents should rest assured there will be at least two additional safety agents on site, and a hot meal served every day," Barbot said. "We'll continue our focus on supporting schools through additional staff, careful planning and communication with families while the Board of Elections focuses on making early voting a success."

In addition to two safety agents, there will also be 10 Board of Elections monitors at P.S. 116, and DOE will be in contact with principals as issues arise regarding all schools, according to Barbot.

Parents got a letter from the department adding, "When schools serve as an election site, they model civic engagement for our students," according to P.S. 116's parent teacher association, which tweeted Thursday that the letter was not enough to put nervous parents at ease.

"We write to assure you that the safety and learning of students and staff is our top priority during the early voting period, and we're working with the NYPD to ensure the building is secure through additional staff and careful planning," the letter says.

The Board of Elections did not immediately respond for comment, but in comments to Gothamist, the agency blamed the education department for not communicating to local schools about the early voting sites sooner.

P.S. 116 is one of nine early voting sites in Manhattan, all of which are schools or colleges.

About half the city's early voting sites are in public schools. P.S. 116 families rallied Monday against their children's school being chosen, Gothamist reported.

The Board of Elections previously proposed seven early voting sites for Manhattan, with just one south of Central Park in Tribeca. Now the borough has nine, with three locations at schools in Murray Hill, Chelsea and the Lower East Side.

The early voting period is the result of a new law signed in January requiring the city's Board of Elections to open doors to voters before Election Day itself Nov. 5.

This article has been updated with information from the Department of Education.