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Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives

City Hall
New York, NY 10007

May 3, 2019

Commissioners of Elections
Board of Elections in the City of New York
Executive Office, 32 Broadway
New York, NY 10004

Dear Commissioners,

I write in response to your announcement on April 30 of the initial list of early voting poll sites
for the November 2019 general election. We believe the selection of only 38 sites for all of New
York City is inadequate to accommodate the needs of the City’s more than five million
registered voters. However, we are encouraged that the Board and staff have publicly
acknowledged that this list is preliminary, and we are prepared and eager to assist you in
identifying additional early voting poll sites throughout the City.

Under the Board’s preliminary formulation, New York City voters will be seriously short-
changed. For example, Queens, which has more than 1.2 million registered voters, and Monroe
County, which has only 487,000 registered voters – less than half as many, would both be served
by just seven early voting poll sites.

As you know, the City has committed $75 million for the next fiscal year to ensure a robust, city-
wide early voting program. We urge the Board to use these funds to expand and improve on the
preliminary November 2019 proposal by adding sufficient early voting sites to get as close as
possible to the standard of one site per 50,000 registered voters.

To further assist the Board’s executive staff, we have worked with a number of City partners –
including the Department of Education, NYCHA, Department for the Aging, Department of
Parks & Recreation, Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities, as well as the New York,
Brooklyn, and Queens Public Libraries – to identify 222 potential early voting poll sites
throughout New York City that can be used as poll sites for this November’s general election.
These locations have been used as poll sites previously or are well known City facilities, and
agency representatives have confirmed their availability to serve as early voting sites this fall.
The City is continuing to identify additional alternative facilities as poll sites for BOE
consideration as well.

Our understanding is that early voting poll sites must have sufficient space to accommodate
voters, poll workers, privacy booths, and machines, and meet accessibility guidelines under the
ADA. Given the lack of specific square footage requirements, we encourage the Board to cast a
wide net and determine, on a case by case basis, which facilities can be used for early voting,
such as large classrooms in DOE facilities.
Office of the Deputy Mayor for Strategic Policy Initiatives
City Hall
New York, NY 10007

Furthermore, additional early voting locations should lessen the burden on any one individual
early voting poll site and ensure that they are well-distributed throughout the City.

We ask that the Board review the attached working list of facilities and survey as many of these
sites as necessary to identify at least 100 suitable early voting locations in New York City. We
are committed to facilitating timely access for the BOE to review and inspect these sites. Also,
given our shared goals of ease and convenience for voters, we urge the Board to reconsider its
decision to limit voters to one specific early voting location rather than allow them to vote at any
of the sites in their borough. Our investment of $21 million dollars in the executive budget for
electronic poll books should facilitate borough-wide early voting. We stand ready and willing to
assist with this effort.

Early voting will ensure access to the ballot by allowing the flexibility to vote that our busy lives
necessitate. We expect that many New Yorkers will be eager to take advantage of this new
opportunity, and we want to be prepared. It is our understanding that the Board’s deadline for
making its final determination is May 29, and we urge the Board to identify substantially more
early voting sites to best meet the needs of all New York City voters. We welcome the
opportunity to work with the Board to assist in all of these endeavors.

Sincerely,

Ayirini Fonseca-Sabune
Chief Democracy Officer

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