City Council Speaker Calls for BOE Head To Resign
BROOKLYN – The citywide scanner snafu is getting the attention of lawmakers with City Council Speaker Corey Johnson calling for the resignation of the top man at the New York City Board of Elections.
Johnson retweeted an interview of Board of Elections’ Executive Director Michael Ryan saying the faulty scanners were are due to a higher turnout and “ballots getting wet.”
“Now we’re blaming the weather?” Johnson tweeted. It’s unacceptable & unfair to voters. Michael Ryan should resign & we should begin a top to bottom review of how this happened.”
Every election is like Groundhog Day: long lines, polling site issues, huge problems. Now we’re blaming the weather? It’s unacceptable & unfair to voters. Michael Ryan should resign & we should begin a top to bottom review of how this happened. It’s time for new leadership at BOE https://t.co/nxl5swtCeb
— Corey Johnson (@CoreyinNYC) November 6, 2018
Dozens of reports on faulty scanners and long lines have flooded social media. Bklyner reported one of the first incidents early this morning when a polling site in Downtown Brooklyn opened more than a half hour later than expected.
That wasn’t the last hiccup in the area. City Councilman Brad Lander took to social media an hour ago to tweet that all the ballot scanners are/have been down at multiple polling sites in his district.
All the ballot scanners are/have been down at multiple polling places in my district: PS130, Park Slope Armory, and Kingsboro Baptist (my poll-site, below). We’re in touch w/ @BOENYC to get them fixed as quickly as possible. https://t.co/UGkfl6gwBv
— Brad Lander (@bradlander) November 6, 2018
Meanwhile, Borough President Adams went down to the Ingersoll Community Center in Fort Green where three of the five scanners are broken. Voters reportedly complained of a ten minute wait time at the polling site.
*Three* out of five scanners are currently down at the Ingersoll Community Center in Brooklyn. Voters are reporting ~10-minute waits. BP Eric Adams is urging voters not to be deterred. pic.twitter.com/XkNNe3irQU
— Vincent Barone (@vinbarone) November 6, 2018
Mayor de Blasio’s office tweeted encouraging people to stay in line and calling for voter reform.
If you are running into issues at your polling place today, please contact 311. https://t.co/aFQryPhKEQ
— NYC Mayor's Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) November 6, 2018
This story is part of a journalism collaboration with ProPublica’s Electionland, a project that monitors voting problems across the country. If you had trouble voting, or if you saw something you want to tell us about, here’s how.
Bklyner is participating in the Electionland coalition of newsrooms around the country covering problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2018 elections. If you see or have a problem, please notify Electionland through:
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