New York county extends early voting hours after lawsuit – Telemundo New York (47)

NEW YORK – Rockland County will offer more early voting hours this weekend to reduce wait times according to a state court decision Friday.

Rockland County will keep the polls open for an additional two and a half hours on Saturday and Sunday, so they will now close the polls at 4:30 p.m. instead of 2:00 p.m. The American Civil Liberties Union, ( NYCLU), filed the lawsuit Thursday in Rockland County Supreme Court on behalf of the Spring Valley and Nyack branches of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP, for its acronym in Spanish). in English) and various individual voters.

NYCLU senior attorney Perry Grossman said the county was failing to comply with New York regulations that require county boards to provide accommodations for voters with disabilities and to ensure that voters wait no more than 30 minutes.

The group’s lawsuit cited resident Glena Davis, 72, who said she cannot queue due to a hip replacement. He said he drives to his polling place several times a day to check the lines that have been wrapped around the buildings.

“When I was at the early voting site, I never saw any kind of sign indicating that people with disabilities or the elderly could go to the front of the line, but I have seen several people with sticks standing at the end of the long line.” she said, “If I can’t vote early, I may not be able to do so on Election Day.”

Westchester, Onondoga and Schenectady counties have extended early voting hours this weekend in hopes of reducing wait times.

Elections Commissioner Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky had said the county planned to add signs offering accommodations for voters with disabilities on Friday.

She had said she was pushing for increased hours and an additional polling place for this week.

About 11 percent of Rockland County’s 210,000 registered voters cast their early votes as of Thursday. New York does not offer early voting on Mondays and Election Day is Tuesday.

Across the state, more than a million voters have returned absentee ballots and 1.6 million have voted from the beginning through Thursday, according to the state board of elections. In New York City alone, more than 700,000 voters have already cast their ballots, but it has been plagued by long lines that have caused waits for hours.

The city’s Board of Elections buckled under pressure from voters and legislators alike and added an additional site on the Upper East Side. Early voting hours in the city are from 7:00 am to 5:00 pm on Saturday, and from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm. on Sunday. Still, Mayor Bill de Blasio criticized the Electoral Board.

“When it comes to the Board of Elections, finish it, don’t amend it,” the mayor said. “It must be demolished and rebuilt.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo echoed his criticism as well, saying that the city’s BOE shouldn’t be celebrating a week with few problems other than large crowds forced to spend up to a quarter of the day just voting.

In the 2016 presidential election, New Yorkers cast 7.8 million votes. The state has about 11.7 million active registered voters.

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