The Future of Voting is the Present in New York State The Future of Voting is the Present in New York State

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CENTRAL NEW-YORKERS MADE THEIR VOICES HEARD IN THE NEW YORK LOCAL ELECTION LAST WEEK.
MEANWHILE,
(STANDUP): IN MY HOME STATE OF OREGON, VOTING IS AS EASY AS OPENING THE MAILBOX, PULLING OUT THE BALLOT, FILLING IT OUT, AND WHISKING IT AWAY TWO MINUTES LATER. BUT IN NEW YORK, THINGS WON’T BE AS EASY. BALLOT MEASURES 3 AND 4 DIDN’T PASS, WHICH WOULD’VE ALLOWED SAME-DAY VOTER REGISTRATION, AND ABSENTEE BALLOT REGISTRATION WITHOUT A REQUEST.
BUT TO NEW YORK FEDERATION OF COLLEGE REPUBLICANS CHAIRMAN AUGUSTUS LEROUX, ELECTIONS NEED TO BE FASTER.

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INCUE:I LIKE
OUTCUE:ARE TAKING
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(“I LIKE TO GIVE THE EXAMPLE OF DISTRICT 22 BETWEEN CLAUDIA TENNEY AND ANTHONY BRINDISI. LOOK HOW LONG THAT TOOK TO RESOLVE. YOU CAN TURN THIS INTO A VOTER’S RIGHTS ISSUE, BUT ACROSS THE BOARD, PEOPLE HAVE CONCERNS WITH HOW LONG THESE ELECTIONS ARE TAKING.”)

LEROUX POINTED TO A NEW YORK CONGRESSIONAL RACE THAT TOOK THREE MONTHS TO DECLARE IN TENNEY’S FAVOR.
EVEN WITH A 40% DROP IN TURNOUT, NEW YORK STILL HAS ONLY COUNTED 86% OF VOTES AS OF TODAY.
BUT DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS COMMISSIONER DUSTIN CZARNY IS WILLING TO TAKE AS LONG AS NECESSARY TO MAKE THE ELECTION FAIR.

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INCUE:WE ARE
OUTCUE:DO HAVE
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(“WE ARE GOING THROUGH AN ISSUE WITH THE EARLY VOTING. WE’RE GOING TO RE-SCAN THE BALLOTS ON THAT. BUT THAT’S NOT A SECURITY ISSUE AS MUCH AS THAT WAS A HUMAN MISTAKE WHICH POINTS OUT TO THE CHECKS AND BALANCES THAT WE DO HAVE.”)

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BUT IN CZARNY’S OPINION, RIGHT-WING RHETORIC HAS INFLUENCED PEOPLE’S STANCE ON NON-CONTACT VOTING-
THE PEOPLE CZARNY SAYS WOULD HAVE BENEFITED THE MOST FROM THE NEW LAWS.

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INCUE:PEOPLE AFFECTED
OUTCUE:SKEWS REPUBLICAN
DURATION:0’13”]
(“PEOPLE AFFECTED MOST ARE OLDER VOTERS THAT TEND TO VOTE BY MAIL, WHICH TRADITIONALLY SKEWS REPUBLICAN.”)

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FOR NOW, VOTERS WILL HAVE TO REGISTER OVER 10 DAYS IN ADVANCE AND VOTE IN-PERSON AT ELECTION SITES.

“COLIN BOCK… N-C-C News”

Syracuse, N.Y. (NCC News) – A year ago, Joseph R. Biden Jr. defeated Donald J. Trump in the 2020 United States Presidential Election. In a year marred by coronavirus restrictions, like lockdowns and random coronavirus surveillance testing, the virus made inroads on the political sphere. In turn, New York shattered its previous absentee ballot voting record with over 660,000 absentee ballots cast. Even with a contagious virus in the air, New Yorkers got out to vote at historic levels, breaking the 70% mark for the first time this century.

But a year later, things are a little different. As pointed out by Onondaga County’s Democratic Elections Commissioner Dustin Czarny, only 31% of eligible New-Yorkers filled in their ballots.

Still, the results are final. Among statewide results, ballot propositions #3 and #4 did not pass. Measure #3 proposed legal same-day registration. Meanwhile, Measure #4 would have granted New Yorkers the chance to vote absentee- regardless of reasoning.

For Republicans, the issue of non-contact voting has been contentious since the 2020 election cycle. Conservative campaigns made false PSAs warning of abandoned conservative ballots and contended that the election was fraudulent. To Dustin Czarny, the mere accusation of fraud is a baseless attack, and he believes convenient voting, while time-consuming to account for, is the safest method for a safe election. “We are going through an issue with the early voting. We’re going to re-scan the ballots on that. But that’s not a security issue as much as that was a human mistake which points out to the checks and balances that we do have.”

To Augustus Leroux, the chairman of the New York Federation of College Republicans, a small difference in accuracy is not enough to change his stance on mail-in ballots. “People have plenty of time to register. I don’t know why 10 days is unreasonable… but I am amendable to” potential non-contact ballot initiatives.

Both Leroux and Czarny acknowledged propaganda that potentially steered the results of this election cycle. Leroux specifically stated that while he would entertain amendments to the current voting scheme, he just wants swift elections. “I like to give the example of District 22 between Claudia Tenney and Anthony Brindisi. Look how long that took to resolve. You can turn this into a voter’s rights issue all you want, but across the board, people have concerns with how long these elections are taking.”

More than anything else, both Leroux and Czarny want to see a return to normal voting. With minimal opportunities to vote remotely, we may be on track for a normal election; at least in terms of health and safety regulations.

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