Election Confusion: Voters in Brooklyn Receive Bad Ballots

In these cases, if the voter fills out the ballot and sends it in accordance with the instructions, his vote may be assigned to another person. The confusion arose a few weeks before the US presidential election. About what this can lead to, the edition writes Bklyner.

What happened

Voters across Brooklyn receive return envelopes for completed ballots with the wrong name and address. Thus, if the voter fulfills all the instructions - fills out the ballot, signs it, puts it in an inner envelope and sends it to the Board of Elections - then he will actually vote on behalf of someone else. Ultimately these votes will be canceled because the signature matches what is on the dossier.

As of September 28, several voters have reported that they have suffered a clear error. They were residents of such areas of New York as Sheepshead Bay, Crown Heights, Prospect Heights, Park Slope and Dumbo.

Thus, 28-year-old Victoria Edel (Victoria Edel) from Sheepshead Bay received a return envelope with the name and address of a woman living on a nearby street. “This is not my newsletter, it is addressed to another woman. It looks like someone was very wrong, ”said the girl.

Valerie Vasquez, a spokeswoman for the city's electoral council, accused a vendor hired by Phoenix Graphics of Rochester to print and distribute absentee ballots in Brooklyn and Queens.

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She said the board is trying to understand the extent of the problem and what to do about it. “We determine how many voters were affected, but we can assure that the supplier will address this issue in future mailings and make sure that people who receive the wrong envelopes receive new ones,” she said. "We will make sure that voters in Brooklyn receive the correct ballots and ballot envelopes before Election Day and can vote."

Phoenix Graphics did not comment on the situation.

The electoral council in May signed a $ 4,6 million contract with the agency to process absentee ballots. It is noteworthy that no competitive bidding took place. Phoenix Graphics was the sole provider of these services, according to Checkbook NYC.

Canceled votes

Voters who reported receiving other people's ballots received them by mail. Each of them received a ballot paper along with an “official envelope for absentee voting”, in which they had to send back the completed and signed ballot.

They then had to seal this envelope and place it in another, addressed to the city electoral council of the district in which they were registered to vote.

But the problem is that in some cases, voters received an absentee ballot envelope with, presumably, a special identification barcode of another person. In such cases, the voter who filled out and sent his ballot to the Election Council is actually voting on behalf of the other person.

Ultimately these votes will be canceled because the signature matches what is on the dossier.

This is a two-step process: when a voter submits their ballot, they will be identified by the barcode as belonging to someone else. The electoral council will then compare the signature and annul the vote.

The couple from Crown Heights faced such a problem. Michael Carey, 55, said that he and his wife received envelopes to return ballots bearing the names of people from a nearby neighborhood.

When Michael called the Election Council, he was told that the problem was the fault of a service provider hired to handle the huge number of people willing to vote in absentia. "It's terrible that they could make that mistake when the election is about to take place," said Michael. "It looks like voters are the last concern of the electoral council."

A voter residing on Prospect Heights, meanwhile, received an envelope with the name and address of his neighbor. He contacted another voter who received an absentee ballot addressed to her, but with an envelope addressed to her boyfriend. This guy received a return envelope with the name of another voter who lives a block away.

And a voter registered in Dumbo received an absentee ballot envelope from the Kings County Board of Directors with an official envelope addressed to another voter living in another building in the same block.

Other problems of absentee voting

The confusion arose a few weeks before the US presidential election on November 3. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, a record number of people in New York and across the country are likely to vote by absentee ballots.

Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has consistently questioned the mailing system to the point of refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power if he fails.

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During the June primaries in New York, there was a low level of voter response. Many of them complained that they did not receive the requested absentee ballots.

New York voters have an opportunity until October 27 request absentee ballots by mail, email, telephone, online or fax.

Some New Yorkers who have already received their ballots also report that they have confused the text of the ballot, calling it the "Official absentee military ballot".

In response, the Electoral Council stated that the documents were valid and that this wording was printed on every absentee ballot.

During the June primary, ballots were printed with the words Absentee / Military. “This is definitely incomprehensible and confusing and it would be nice to have a clearer message,” said Stephen Parkhurst of Astoria, who requested a vote in the first week of September.

Election lawyer Sarah Steiner confirmed that absentee ballots and military ballots are identical and are processed in the same way by the Electoral Council.