Voting plan sparks debate
Supervisors warn plan for early voting, automatic registration may be pricey
BALLSTON SPA, N.Y. » The local chapter of the League of Women Voters is upset by Saratoga County supervisors’ opposition to an initiative designed to increase voter participation.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget proposal includes $7 million for early voting and automatic registration programs, which the League says would encourage more people to cast ballots.
But county officials, who voted against the plan Tuesday, say it would duplicate already existing procedures, create more work and cost the county money.
The supervisors’ vote is not binding, but demonstrates the county’s opposition to Cuomo’s plan.
“The county is not against early voting,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Ed Kinowski, R-Stillwater. “But no one knows exactly yet what the (governor’s) full proposal is and it’s impact on the county. That’s the problem. We don’t know the details yet.”
Kinowski said the $7 million Cuomo proposed isn’t enough for all 62 counties in New York and might not be continued in future years. He described the governor’s proposal as an unfunded state mandate.
Early voting is designed to help people whose busy schedules make it difficult to cast ballots on Election Day, and would be held within 12 days of Election Day.
League member Nicole Clarke, of Galway, presented a petition with 170 signatures to the board, asking supervisors to urge state lawmakers to fund early voting and automatic voter registration, tied to driver’s license and motor vehicle registrations.
“We are very much in favor of both these things, which we believe generate real results,” said League spokesperson Barbara Thomas of Saratoga Springs. “We are in favor of maximum participation in our democratic process.”
The League says early voting reduces stress on the voting system on Election Day in several ways. They are:
• Alleviating long lines;
• Improving poll worker performance;
• Allowing early identification and correction of registration errors and voting-system glitches;
• Providing greater access to voting and increased voter satisfaction.
If approved, early voting would be held at three locations throughout the county.
Kinowski said the county would have to pick up the expense of paid election workers, and the plan would put increased demand on volunteer election inspectors.
Roger Schiera, the county’s Republican commissioner of elections, said early voting would be an “administrative nightmare” and increase the possibility of people voting multiple times at multiple locations.
New electronic polling books needed to prevent such problems would cost at least $500,000, he said.
“It’s a very expensive gamble,” he said.
Hadley Supervisor Arthur Wright said people who can’t vote on Election Day should obtain an absentee ballot.
However, the League says automatic voter registration is a cheaper and more efficient way of registering voters than traditional paperbased registration systems. In Oregon, nearly 100,000 of the 230,000 people who were registered automatically voted in the November 2016 general election, the League says.
“During this time of voter apathy, it would be a good problem if voter registration in our county swelled enough to cause legislative districts to be re-drawn,” the League said in a statement. “It is disingenuous to claim to support increased voter participation, yet pass measures that suppress the voting potential of county residents.”
County Clerk Craig Hayner said automatic voter registration would not impact DMV workers significantly.
However, he said such initiatives don’t “get to the heart of the issue, which is why aren’t people voting?”
“If people feel disenfranchised, that’s what needs to be asked,” he said.