Testimony of Amy Loprest, Executive Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board to New York City Council Committee on Governmental Operations

09/25/2020

Good morning, chair Cabrera, and members of the Committee on Governmental Operations. My name is Amy Loprest and I am the Executive Director of the New York City Campaign Finance Board. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on the administration of the June primary election in New York City.

In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic the New York City Board of Elections (BOE) was tasked with administering an election. Building an absentee ballot infrastructure for all voters in a city where historically votes are mostly cast in person presented a massive administrative burden for the BOE. The BOE had no clear guidance from the federal government about how to safely conduct an election and dealt with last-minute administrative changes from the state legislature, Governor, and NYS BOE. The BOE and its staff should be applauded for their hard work throughout these trying circumstances and for conducting a safe and socially distanced election.

As you know, the CFB is mandated by the New York City Charter to encourage and facilitate voter registration and voting by all eligible residents of New York City, but particularly among underrepresented populations. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have focused on providing New Yorkers with accurate election information, as the date of the election, the voting method, what races would be on the ballot, and other factors were constantly changing to reflect state legislation, breaking court decisions and executive orders issued by Governor Cuomo. In order to respond to these constant changes, the CFB, along with the Mayor’s DemocracyNYC initiative formed an elections consortium with good government groups, community-based organizations (CBOs), and voting advocates to disseminate accurate and consistent election information to voters.

Our analysis shows that communities hardest hit by COVID-19 are the same neighborhoods where turnout is historically lower. We are working to ensure these same communities are engaged for the November election. The CFB projects voter turnout to reach 70% in November, meaning as many as 3.3 million New Yorkers will cast a ballot this fall. With paper-based registration options less viable throughout the pandemic, and no universal online voter registration system for New York City voters, NYC Votes has teamed up with Turbo Vote to create a platform to get more New Yorkers registered to vote, and does not require access to a printer. The Turbo Vote platform is simple and easy to use and we hope it will allow many New Yorkers to register or change their registration ahead of the October 9th registration deadline.

It is essential that we continue to provide New Yorkers with up to date and accurate information, in an election year filled with uncertainty and misinformation. With no end to the pandemic in sight, we can use our experiences from the June primary election and apply them to November and beyond.

Improvements Since the June Election

We heard from voters at our July 1st Voter Assistance Advisory Committee (VAAC) hearing about their experiences voting in June. Many voters noted their frustration regarding the absentee ballot process. Thankfully the BOE and state legislature have already taken steps to improve this process ahead of the November general election.

Many absentee ballots were invalidated due to issues not entirely the fault of a voter, such as postal service delays or inconsistent postmarking procedures. Voters have also indicated on social media that they did not have a way of fixing absentee ballots that were invalidated for not having a signature or being improperly sealed. Others mentioned that election law did not allow the BOE flexibility to count ballots that were mailed timely but did not have a postmark. The state legislature addressed these concerns by passing legislation requiring the BOE to accept ballots missing a postmark and received the day after the election and permitting voters to fix an invalid absentee ballot. These were vital pieces of legislation that make the absentee ballot process clearer for the BOE, while also helping voters ensure their vote is counted, and we congratulate all the state legislators, many from NYC, who helped make these laws a reality.

Many voters at our VAAC hearing said that they had submitted an application and never received an absentee ballot, or that their ballot arrived too late to send back to the BOE.
The BOE has independently taken steps to improve the experience of voting by absentee ballot. Alongside their excellent online absentee ballot request portal, they have recently implemented an online absentee ballot tracking system that allows voters to track the status of their absentee ballot. The tracking website will allow voters to have up to date information about when their absentee ballot application has been received and processed and the date the BOE mailed their absentee ballot. Through the tracking system, voters will now be able to proactively address issues related to their absentee ballot request. Also, as a result of the new state law allowing voters to fix certain invalidated absentee ballots, the BOE’s tracking system will also indicate whether a voter’s absentee ballot was accepted as “valid” or “invalid”. Previously, voters would have to call the BOE’s office for this information. Providing this information online is an enormous improvement for the voter and saves time on the phone for BOE staff as well. This level of transparency gives voters information that will help them advocate for themselves and make sure their vote is counted.

The BOE has also introduced specially created absentee ballot boxes that will be located at every early voting and election day poll site and every BOE office. Voters will have more flexibility with regard to transmitting their absentee ballot to the BOE, given that the United States Postal Service (USPS) has indicated they expect a huge volume of election-related mail. Many voters have also voiced their concerns regarding the uncertainty and lack of trust regarding the USPS. Physical absentee ballot boxes allow voters this in-person delivery option while also ensuring limited exposure to other voters and poll workers. These changes make the process more efficient and transparent, which will hopefully limit the number of questions the BOE receives in the weeks leading up to the election, and vastly improves the absentee ballot process for New Yorkers.

Additional Recommendations

While a record-breaking number of voters chose to vote via absentee ballot in June, a majority still chose to vote in person on election day. The BOE has done a great job of publicizing poll worker recruitment efforts to reflect the increased turnout in November. They are in the process of training these new poll workers. It is vital that poll workers are properly and completely trained on how to interact with voters ahead of election day.

We believe early voting is the safest and most effective way for New Yorkers to cast a ballot in person. The CFB, through our NYC Elections Consortium co-founded with the Mayor’s Office DemocracyNYC initiative, are planning a robust advertising and social media campaign to encourage early voting. Early voting provides a chance for voters to properly social distance and minimize the wait time associated with presidential elections.

Ensuring the ballot is accessible to all New Yorkers must remain a priority. In our VAAC hearing, voters with disabilities testified that the accessible absentee ballot was burdensome and required voters to own a printer and obtain legal printing paper. While the June election was the first time an accessible absentee ballot was available, we encourage the State BOE to improve the accessible absentee ballot process for voters with disabilities to better meet voters’ needs and allow an accessible means to receive, mark, and submit an absentee ballot privately and independently from home.

To reiterate, the state legislature and BOE have taken significant steps to improve the electoral process ahead of the November election, based on what we saw in June. Under historically difficult circumstances, the BOE has found ways to deliver meaningful administrative solutions to challenges that couldn’t have been predicted when 2020 started. The work is not yet done but they’ve made changes that will make a practical difference for voters this fall. Their work has not gone unnoticed and we hope to work with them to further improve the absentee voting process for future elections.

While this hearing is dedicated to the June 2020 election, I would like to add that we have fielded many questions about the CFB’s plans for ranked choice voting (RCV) voter education and outreach for the 2021 elections. We have created a planning roadmap and have already begun preparing content. Our staff will use 2020 to conduct research and create materials to roll out to our community partners in early 2021, including a train-the-trainer presentation, toolkit, one-pager and voter FAQ, and explainer video about why this new method of voting benefits voters. We will also work with our partners and the NYC Elections Consortium to create a field plan for community outreach to be sure we can effectively educate every community in advance of the first RCV elections.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony today. I’m happy to answer any questions you might have.