Board of Elections should publish waiting times at polling sites, Bronx lawmaker says
The city Board of Elections would be required to report wait times at polling stations on its website, under a new bill from Bronx Councilman Rafael Salamanca.
The proposal comes in the wake of complaints of long lines at voting sites during the November presidential election.
“New Yorkers are very impatient and we don’t like to wait in line,” Salamanca, a Democrat, told the Daily News on Thursday. “If we can find a time or a slot that’s convenient for us and we can go in and out — vote and leave — it’s something that’s encouraging.”
He planned to introduce the legislation to the City Council next week. If passed, the bill would give the BOE 60 days to set up its website so it provides wait times at polling sites at least every 30 minutes during balloting for local elections.
The June 22 mayoral primaries are coming too soon to be affected by the legislation, but Salamanca hopes to see it become a reality in time for next year’s elections for governor and other offices.
“It may encourage [New Yorkers] to vote — schedule a time and go out and vote, as opposed to waiting there and saying, ‘I don’t want to do this’ and then just leave,” the councilman said.
He had two other bills he planned to introduce at the next full meeting of the Council, scheduled for Wednesday.
One measure would require the city to study a plan to reimburse municipal workers for costs incurred while working from home. In the other bill, every time a city agency is the subject of a Council oversight hearing, a representative from the agency would be required to attend the entirety of the meeting — instead of skipping portions in which members of the public sound off.
The latter bill would be “a good step forward to ensuring accountability,” Salamanca said.
