Quinn
Statement before the Committee on Governmental Operations
Oversight Hearing on 2010 Primary Day Election Failures
October 4, 2010
Good morning and thank you Chair Brewer for holding this
important hearing to discuss the Board of Elections’ and other city
agencies’ performance on Primary Day and the Board’s plans to
improve operations for future elections.
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what went wrong. How many machines did not work? How many
polls opened late? These are questions that should be answered
after every election, and these answers should be made public to
New Yorkers so they know what happened. I hope today’s hearing
will help us not only get to the bottom those questions as it relates
to the 14th, but more importantly, will help us put a system in
place that requires public disclosure and answers all questions
after every election.
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preparing the rollout of new machines this fall – and that $13
million was rolled over to the Board’s 2011 budget from 2010.
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already ended, making the Department of Education unable
to find those janitors to tell them to arrive earlier on Primary
Day?
What is the Board’s protocol for addressing agencies’
failures to appear on time at their assigned polling place?
Exactly how many machines broke down on Primary Day?
How long did it take to repair them?
How many machines were sent to polling sites without the
keys to open them?
What steps are being taken to improve issues of voter
privacy?
What steps are being taken to address widely reported
accessibility problems for disabled voters at poll sites?
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mandate under the City Charter, this body is committed to
conducting oversight in a rigorous and transparent fashion.
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