Incorrect information on both the mail-in ballots and return envelopes were the main issues pointed out by the board. Twenty-eight-year-old Victoria Edel received her younger brother’s ballot, while Edel’s younger brother got the ballot meant for their mother. Their mother received an envelope supposedly for a woman who lived nearby.
“It feels like it’s really easy for a lot of people to be disenfranchised this way,” she said.
Melissa DeRosa, secretary for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, also pointed out additional errors during a press briefing. Some ballots had the term “absentee military” printed on them; there should have been a slash between the two words for people to know that the ballot was both a military and absentee one according to DeRosa. She also mentioned that Phoenix Graphics mismatched the packages and their contents — which led to some getting the correct ballot but the incorrect envelope.
The board demanded Phoenix Graphics to send out new ballot packages to every person in Brooklyn who may have been affected to ensure “absolutely no disenfranchisement occurs in the borough of Brooklyn.” The printer has complied with the order as of this writing, mentioning in a statement: “Phoenix Graphics is in the process of reprinting and mailing all materials to correct the project and will be covering all expenses related to production and postage.
In a statement on its website, the board informed affected voters that mail-in ballots with the correct details will arrive during the week of Oct. 9. It also instructed voters to destroy the contents of the previous mail-in ballot as only the most recent one will be counted.
New York faces issues with both mail-in and in-person voting – which Democrats can use to their advantage
President Donald Trump took to Twitter to comment on the mail-in ballots in Brooklyn with erroneous information, calling it “a total mess” in a Sept. 30 tweet. He then called for people to “go out and vote” instead of relying on mail-in ballots. The president has consistently spoken out against mail-in voting, as he believed that Democrats would commit widespread voter fraud using absentee ballots.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, previously said in August that safely voting in person was possible “if carefully done according to the guidelines.” According to Fauci, social distancing, similar to what is done when shopping for groceries, could play a key role in making elections safer.
The New York City Board of Elections requires persons to wear a mask or face covering and maintain a distance of six feet when entering any election facilities. N.Y. election laws permit voters who have requested or returned their absentee ballot to vote in person still.
Anyone who goes out and votes in an election precinct will need to follow the health protocols in place. Votes cast in person will override and invalidate earlier votes cast through mail-in ballots.
Aside from issues with mail-in ballots, the state also has issues with non-citizens and illegal immigrants being listed on the voter rolls. N.Y. is one of many states that permit undocumented immigrants to apply for a driver’s license—and the state automatically registers them as voters unless they indicate that they are not U.S. citizens.
The current system relies on honesty from non-citizens and illegal immigrants, which results in a challenging validation process. Furthermore, a lack of tools to clean out the voter rolls and inaction by the federal government makes the process even more difficult. (Related: Immigrant arrested for repeatedly committing voter fraud to skew U.S. elections, while corrupt Democrats claim voter fraud never happens.)
If the issues surrounding mail-in ballots and non-citizens voting in N.Y. state elections continue, Democrats will take advantage of these to ensure a Joe Biden win.
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