Letter To The Editor: State Should Allow Voting Extensions

On Tuesday, May 15th there was a very important election around the county for school boards and school budgets. Voters have the opportunity to vote on only one government budget — for or against the school budgets. And there were some hotly contested elections for school board in some districts.

During election day, a major storm resulted in road closures, power outages and Metro-North suspending service from NYC to Westchester. Many voters who intended to vote after they came home from work were unable to catch a train to Westchester in time to vote. Voter turnout was not as high as it could have been and it's possible that some of the candidates who lost their election would have won if the weather did not cause the train service discontinuation or power outages.

What's needed? The NYS Legislature and governor should amend the law to authorize school districts and, in the case of a November election, the Board of Elections to extend voting hours (which could include keeping the polls open an extra day) in the event of an unusual circumstance like the one we just experienced.

Our democracy depends on voter participation. The weather on Tuesday caused many people not to vote and that is unfortunate. With weather patterns changing this could happen again.

— Paul Feiner, Greenburgh town supervisor

Patch graphic.