Pols Rally For Ballot Drop Boxes At Midtown's Farley Post Office

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — A group of elected officials and voting rights advocates rallied Monday in front of the iconic Farley Post Office building in Midtown, calling for the passage of a proposed law that would allow the city to set up ballot drop boxes ahead of November's General Election.

The bill, introduced by State Sen. Brad Hoylman, who represents Midtown, would let local boards of elections create absentee ballot drop boxes across the state. Currently, New York is one of only about 16 states that have no ballot drop system in place.

Advocates have sounded the alarm over a lack of safe and reliable voting options this fall, as the coronavirus pandemic discourages in-person voting while delays at the U.S. Postal Service caused by new Trump administration policies fuel concerns that mailed-in ballots will not arrive in time to be counted.

We were thrilled to join lead sponsors @bradhoylman @DickGottfried as well as @galeabrewer at today’s press conference in support of implementing ballot drop off boxes giving New Yorkers one more safe and convenient way to ensure their vote is counted in November! pic.twitter.com/vz2d9WwM5e
— Empire State Indivisible (@es_indivisible) August 31, 2020

"New York won’t allow Donald Trump’s relentless attempts to undermine our elections and spread misinformation to succeed," Hoylman said in a statement. "As his administration’s attacks on the USPS create postal delays across the country and New York grapples with historic numbers of absentee ballots, we need to ensure New Yorkers that their votes will be counted."

With just over eight weeks remaining before the election, Hoylman said a ballot box manufacturing company would be ready to fill New York's order, as more states set up drop boxes ahead of the election.

Not everyone is convinced — one state elections official told a Rochester public radio station this week that it's unlikely that the boxes could be installed in time for the Nov. 3 election.

Also in attendance were Manhattan Borough President Gale Brewer, State Senators Rachel May and Robert Jackson, and Assemblymember Richard Gottfried, who is sponsoring the bill in the State Assembly.

Voting rights advocates including Betsy Gotbaum, Executive Director of Citizens Union, and Jennifer Wilson, deputy director of the New York League of Women Voters, were also present Monday.