July 3, 2012 Maria R.

R. Guastella President New York City Board of Elections 32 Broadway, 7th Floor New York, NY 10004-1609 Dear Ms. Guastella: I write to you as Public Advocate for the City of New York and as a member of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee with concerns about the administration of the recent June 26, 2012 primary elections. I am disturbed by reports that may point to a larger set of election administration issues in our city. In particular, I am concerned by the election night vote tallying process in which only hand-written canvas sheets, prepared by poll workers and then reported to the New York City Police Department, are used for totaling election night vote returns, instead of using vote count print-outs directly from precinct voting machines. I hereby request detailed responses to the following questions. 1.) Given the advent of new voting machines, what is the rationale for our election night process of manual writing, counting, and delivery? What adjustments is the Board exploring to remedy the delays and inaccuracies experienced in recent elections that have arisen as a result of this election night process? 2.) What number of ballots remained to be counted by Friday, June 29, 2012 in the NY-13 Congressional District? 3.) Does the Board anticipate any difficulty meeting the legal deadlines for reporting a final, certified vote count? 4.) What is the BOE's process for ensuring media observers are allowed to monitor post- election vote tallying and vote recounts? Is there a procedure for members of the public unaffiliated with any campaign to observe the count? Has that process been followed since June 26, 2012 in the NY-13 Congressional District?

I further request that we convene a meeting of the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee, the Board of Elections, and the New York City Police Department to assess the June 26, 2012 elections and implement best practices before the remaining elections this fall. I appreciate your willingness to share this information with my office, and I look forward to working with you to address these issues in the coming months. Sincerely,

Bill de Blasio Public Advocate for the City of New York