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Board of Elections Survey Says Primary Went Just Fine, Thanks
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 11, 2010
Modified Oct 11, 2010
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 11, 2010
Modified Oct 11, 2010
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After spending $90,000 on a survey about the infamous primary election snafus, the Board of Elections says that most voters walked away with a favorable view of the new voting process, which featured the debut of the electronic optical scan voting machines. Despite widespread reports of disorganized polling sites opening late and missing machines, only 6% of those surveyed reported having "major issues." Of course, as the Daily News notes, that adds up to about 20,700 of the 345,000 voters that day. And the survey only included people who actually were able to vote, not the untold number who were turned away because, for example, workers closed the polling site while waiting for new machines to arrive.
According to the poll—which, again, was paid for by the Board of Elections—70% of voters think the new machines are at least as good as the old lever system, if not better! But a solid majority object to the new machines' lack of privacy. Instead of disappearing behind a curtain to cast votes, citizens now have just cardboard blinders for protection. And in their eagerness to help voters with the scanning machines, poll workers made some voters feel exposed. 45% felt this was a serious flaw, according to the News, which obtained a copy of the survey.
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Board of Elections
election
election 2010
primary
voting machine
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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