CITIZENS UNION APPLAUDS CITY BOARD OF ELECTIONS
AT MEETING OF COMMISSIONERS FOR PASSING MOTION TO PUT SAMPLE BALLOTS ONLINE

City Board Approves Proposal Unanimously; Deemed "High-Priority" for 2011

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Citizens Union commends the City Board of Elections for passing today a motion to put sample ballots online for future elections so that voters will be able to see the design of the ballot in addition to the contests they will vote for prior to Election Day. During this fall's elections, many New Yorkers struggled to cast their votes accurately due to the small size of the font and the complex and confusing design of the ballot. Being able to view a sample ballot online, in advance of Election Day, will better prepare the voters to more accurately and completely cast their votes. A Council survey of voters on Election Day, conducted with the participation of Citizens Union, revealed that 1 in 3 voters found the ballot to be difficult to read.

The Board's unanimous decision to make the implementation of posting sample ballots online a "high priority" for 2011 follows a Citizens Union analysis released earlier this month showing that the boards of elections in twenty-seven counties in New York State - representing almost half of all counties - posted sample ballots online for voters to familiarize themselves with the ballot and races prior to entering the polling place.

Of the twenty-seven boards of elections posting ballots online, eight demonstrate exceptional practices by linking the sample ballot to the poll site finder for users of the site, a practice the City will emulate to enable voters to see the ballot that is tailored to their specific election and assembly district based on their residence rather than a ballot that is similar in design but may differ in the candidates from the one they will see on Election Day.

Having testified before the City Council in the last month and met with Council members and staff on this issue, Citizens Union is exploring ways it can recommend to the City to use its authority over the City Board's budget, if not its legislative authority, to require other changes to improve the administration of elections following widespread problems during the 2010 elections. Citizens Union will be testifying again before the Council on election matters on Monday, December 6th.