Bayside Area Will Have No Early Voting Sites: Report

BAYSIDE, QUEENS — The Bayside area will have no early voting sites, according to a list of sites approved by the NYC Board of Elections this week.

A map of early voting sites compiled by Gothamist shows there are no early voting sites in Bayside. The only location in Northeastern Queens is at the Al Oerter Recreation Center by Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, according to the map.

The NYC Board of Elections on Tuesday approved 38 voting sites citywide, WNYC reported. Only seven of those are in Queens, prompting a harsh rebuke from Mayor Bill de Blasio and other public officials, who say seven sites is not enough for the borough.

The board will assign voters to specific early-voting locations, according to Gothamist, rather than permitting voters to choose the site that's most convenient for them.

An agency spokeswoman did not immediately respond to Patch's email requesting comment.

Seven early voting sites for all of Queens?! SEVEN?! That's like having seven sites for the entire state of New Mexico.

We're giving the @BOENYC $75 million to do early voting the right way — not to make excuses for another botched Election Day. https://t.co/LbCoalLlZR
— Mayor Bill de Blasio (@NYCMayor) May 2, 2019

The state legislature passed an early voting bill in January, along with a suite of other electoral reforms. The bill, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo later that month, sets up a nine-day period during which voters may cast ballots before Election Day.

The city is giving the elections board $75 million to create the early voting system ahead of elections this November, the Queens Daily Eagle reported.

De Blasio is calling for the agency to expand the number of early voting locations by May 29, the state's deadline for determining how much grant money each county gets as a reimbursement for early-voting costs.