Rockland Board Of Elections Ordered To Expand Early Voting

ROCKLAND COUNTY — The New York State Supreme Court of Rockland County ruled Friday in a lawsuit the New York Civil Liberties Union filed yesterday, and ordered immediate remedies to address long lines and inadequate accommodations for voters during early voting.

The ruling requires the Rockland County Board of Elections to extend poll site hours by 2.5 hours per day for the remainder of early voting and to add signage offering accommodations for voters who require them, as required by state law.

In response, the NYCLU issued the following statement from senior staff attorney Perry Grossman:

“Today’s ruling provides Rockland County voters with the support, resources, and relief urgently needed at the polls as we head into the final weekend of early voting,” Grossman said. “Voting in Rockland County will no longer be a privilege reserved for those able to wait and stand in line. This is a critical election, and we will continue to fight to make sure everyone can make their voices heard.”

The issue was discussed earlier in the week by the board's two commissioners. Democratic Commissioner Kristen Zebrowski Stavisky proposed longer hours and opening a fifth early voting site this weekend at the county's fire training center.

Commissioner Patricia Giblin, a Republican, rejected the last-minute changes. She told The Journal News, "What everybody’s forgetting is that there is voting hours on Election Day and there’s 62 sites open on Election Day where people can vote 6 in the morning to 9 o’clock at night."

Thursday evening, the lawsuit was filed on behalf of the Spring Valley and Nyack branches of the NAACP and several individual voters. It sought the immediate extension of poll site hours for the remainder of early voting, which runs through Nov. 1, and the addition of signage offering accommodations for voters who require them.

“In the most critical election of our lifetimes, with historic levels of voter enthusiasm, Rockland County voters are facing unacceptably long lines and onerous conditions to vote,” Perry Grossman, NYCLU senior staff attorney, said in a statement to the news media. “Accessible voting accommodations aren’t an option, they’re a requirement. The County can and must still do more to make early voting a success for the thousands participating for the first time ever."

Rockland County Legislative Majority Leader Jay Hood Jr. called on the BOE to extend voting hours and possibly add polls, staff and equipment.

“This started on day one of Early Voting and absolutely no relief has been provided in the six days since,” Hood said on Thursday. “The Republican Elections Commissioner reportedly won’t agree to extend early voting hours, so no matter who you are, Democrat, Republican, independent, you’re stuck on line — and today and tomorrow, that means waiting out in the rain. A partial remedy that could ease the lines has been identified and the commissioner needs to act in favor of all voters immediately.”

Legislator Harriet Cornell said she voted at Clarkstown Town Hall on Monday, after making her way along a two-and-a-half-hour line that started at an access road from Route 304, led up to Maple Avenue, involved turnstile-type lines, then led into Town Hall, through a long hallway, up two flights of stairs, into another hallway, and finally into the room where the voting machines were located.

“I kept wondering how people with disabilities would manage or seniors who just couldn’t huff it that far,” Cornell said. “There were no provisions for taking people with disabilities or the elderly off the very long line and directly into vote via elevator to the third floor, where the process was very efficient."

Legislature Chairman Alden Wolfe said the board should also add staff and voting machines now and not wait until Election Day on Nov. 3.

“It became obvious on day one that Rockland, like communities across the nation, was going to be slammed by people seeking to cast their ballots,” Wolfe said. “The magnitude of this election has driven millions and millions of people to participate in early voting, partially motivated by a desire to ensure their vote isn’t ‘lost in the mail.’”

Residents have brought folding chairs, books to read, even snacks as they wait for hours. The lines have been so long, that turnstile-type waiting lanes have been established to accommodate all would-be voters.

The lawsuit calls for voting hours to be extended from 9am to 8pm Friday instead of 9am to 5pm and then extend Saturday and Sunday by three hours, from 9am to 5pm instead of 9am to 2pm.

One petitioner, Glenda Davis, is 72 and unable to stand in line to vote due to a hip replacement.

“Each day of early voting I have driven to my polling location two to three times a day to check the line, and each time it has wrapped around the building,” Davis said in the NYCLU statement. “I can’t stand in a line like that for two to three hours straight. When I was at the early voting site, I never saw any sort of sign posted that people with disabilities or the elderly could go to the front of the line, but I have seen several people with canes standing at the end of the long line. If I’m not able to vote early, I may not be able to on Election Day.”

According to the NYCLU, New York regulations dictate that County boards deploy sufficient resources to ensure voters do not wait more than 30 minutes, but thus far Rockland County has failed to abide by that requirement. They said voters with patent disabilities were waiting in lines without being offered accommodations, also required under state law.

“No one should be deterred or prevented from voting because of preventable barriers or lack of legally-required accommodations,” said Donna Lieberman, NYCLU executive director. “The accessibility of our voting sites reflects the health of our democracy, and we will do everything in our power to make sure every voter can cast their ballot.”

Voters statewide have experienced long lines at polling sites, and various boards of election have taken steps to alleviate delays. In New York City, Westchester, Onondoga and Schenectady counties, hours for early voting during the weekend have already been extended to increase availability and reduce wait times.

Cornell said several constituents had contacted her to complain and demand changes.

"Residents were thrilled at the opportunity for early voting, but they are now are troubled by what they see as hurdles between them and the ballot box. When it’s this hard to vote, some people simply walk away, intending to come back another day, but possibly never casting their ballot because of a long wait in inclement weather," she said. "It adds up to nothing less than an effort to suppress votes, whether it means to be or not."

Early voting in Rockland County:

• Friday, October 30, 2020 from 9AM until 5PM
• Saturday, October 31, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM
• Sunday, November 1, 2020 from 9AM until 2PM

Rockland has four Early Voting Centers:

1. Clarkstown Town Hall, 10 Maple Avenue, New City, New York 10956
2. Haverstraw Town Hall, 1 Rosman Road, Garnerville, New York 10923
3. Orangetown Town Hall, 26 West Orangeburg Road, Orangeburg, New York 10962
4. Ramapo Town Hall, 237 Route 59, Suffern, New York 10901