This Veteran Rightly Refuses to Be Polite to the NYC Board of Elections

I attended the public meeting of the NYC Board of Elections Commissioners on May 3rd, 2016 along with over 100 fellow New Yorkers to demand a delay of the primary vote certification until a full and independent audit could take place. The Board continuously disrespected us over the course of the four-hour meeting.

Executive Director Michael Ryan postponed all testimony for nearly 3 hours. When citizens were finally allowed to speak around 4pm (on a strict 2-minute timer), many of the 10 members of the board rolled their eyes and scoffed at voters’ testimony. Ryan spoke in opaque legal terms that did not address anyone’s concerns. President Bianka Perez, a lawyer based in Brick, New Jersey, was grinning and overheard whispering to her colleague “Bring ’em on!” after one disenfranchised voter inquired about the recourse of action others from her district should take. At no point during the public testimony portion of the meeting were any of our concerns taken seriously.

This is the testimony of one of the last speakers, Niko House, who served as a paralegal for four years at Fort Bragg. Niko waited patiently until 5pm for his turn to speak:

My name is Niko House.

I would like to commend everyone who stood up here and, in their nicest voices, begged you and asked you…

Because I’m not that nice!

Now I was in the military, and one thing that they tell you is that the person who signs the checks is the boss, the person who pays the money is the boss. So as a tax payer, I am now standing here, in front of all these cameras and the American people to say Shut the fucking election down until everything is taken care of.

[Room erupts with activity. President Perez tries to stop his testimony.]

Fine. No more vulgarity.

You want to stand here and expect us to believe the scapegoat is a Republican, but when it’s Democrats who switched registrations, all of a sudden nobody gets fired.

So you’re going to look at us as citizens and say we’re morons. You’re going to insult the people who elected you.
[Ed. Note: The Board members are appointed by the two parties, not elected.]

Really look at us and tell us that you shouldn’t be standing out here with us, just as mad. You want to look at each and every one of these people and explain why you’re not mad that democracy is dying?

Please, escort me out, because you have no idea how many people are watching this right now.

Watch the full public testimony here.

In December of 2013, the New York City Department of Investigations issued a scathing report detailing the Board of Elections’ nepotistic hiring practices, inadequate training, and questionable registration maintenance methodology. The City Council held a hearing to discuss those issues, but Michael Ryan was defiant in his testimony, insisting that the report “does not accurately reflect the reality”, and that the mechanisms of New York’s elections were fundamentally sound.

If you read through those reports and testimonies, you’ll find that none of the problems that plagued the New York City’s primary on April 19th should have come as a surprise to any city official.

If you had to vote via an affidavit ballot, please contact Election Justice USA, and your local Board of Elections as soon as the votes are certified to find out if your vote has been counted.

To connect with other rightfully pissed off New Yorkers, follow the hashtag #NYPrimaryProblems or join our Facebook group.

Please contact me on Twitter with any corrections or omissions.

I am continuing to attend the weekly Commissioner’s hearings and will be reporting more on the ongoing story here in New York City. Stay tuned for more pieces that will annihilate the Board’s credibility (even more).
 
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