New York’s new early-voting law looks to need some adjusting.
A measly 1.3 percent, 60,110, of the city’s 4.7 million registered voters cast early ballots from Oct. 26 through Nov. 3. Statewide, it was just 2 percent, or 256,000 people.
That’s extremely few voters “empowered” at a cost to, among others, children. In the city, cafeterias, gyms and other areas at 33 schools served as polling places — forcing students to exercise in hallways, eat lunch at desks and see strange adults in their bathrooms.
As Angel Pastrana, whose 4-year-old goes to PS 175 in Harlem, put it: “I’m in agreement with early voting, but not at schools during school hours.”
How about restricting early voting to weekends, plus some evening hours? That’s plenty of opportunity for those who want to skip Election Day lines.
Michael Ryan of the city Board of Elections admits, “Early voting is a work in progress.” But making it more practical is up to the Legislature.