Following the error admitted by the Board of Elections Tuesday after releasing the inaccurate results of the Democratic primary, State Senator Liz Krueger introduced a bill to “professionalize” the agency.
The Manhattan Democrat is the main sponsor of legislation that would modernize the leadership of the Board, establish training and qualification requirements for employees, and push forward reporting and accountability measures.
“At the Board of Elections we are still grappling with a 19th century sponsorship model in which party bosses appoint 10 unelected commissioners,” 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, misreporting of the Board’s results in the Democratic mayoralty primaries earlier this week has renewed interest in the legislation.
The Board of Elections faces a storm of criticism after publishing and then rescinating the mayoral primary results Tuesday after admitting that staff accidentally included 135,000 test ballots in the numbers.
The results of what was the city’s first attempt to vote by classification are not expected for another two weeks, as absentee votes are counted.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) promised to hold hearings after the debacle.
“The situation in New York City is a national embarrassment and must be dealt with quickly and appropriately,” Stewart-Cousins said. “In the coming weeks, the Senate will hold hearings on this situation and seek to pass reform legislation as a result at the earliest opportunity.”
A systematic review of the electoral boards in New York would require a change to the state Constitution, but Krueger’s bill, also sponsored by Assemblywoman Nily Rozic (D-Queens), could bring the necessary changes to the city in the meantime. .
The bill would add accountability components for the board’s co-executive directors, who would be elected by a majority vote of the mayor, the president of the city council and the public defender, rather than appointed by the parties.
It would also create continuing education and training requirements for commissioners, staff, and co-chairs.
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