12 APRIL 19, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
HEADING
A primary of one that’ll likely draw none
There’s a primary this Tuesday,
April 24, to decide who will
fi ll the vacant 39th Assembly
District in Queens, which includes
parts of Corona, Elmhurst and Jackson
Heights.
Spoiler alert: we already know who
won it.
Ari Espinal, former aide to Councilman
Francisco Moya, has all three
voting lines on the special election
ballot: Democratic, Working Families
and Women’s Equality. As long as she
shows up to cast a vote for herself,
she wins.
Nonetheless, dozens of polling places
will be open on April 24 from 6 a.m.
to 9 p.m. The city Board of Elections
will assign to each of them workers
who will assist voters with registration,
man the scanning machines,
operate the Ballot Marking Device
for persons with disabilities, provide
assistance with voter questions, supervise
the entire operation and, in some
cases, provide interpretation services.
As in past elections, police offi cers
will likely be assigned for security
purposes.
It fi gures that the city will spend
quite a bit of taxpayer money on an
election in which few will participate
largely because the outcome is already
known.
This primary is yet another example
of the woefully inept and ineffi cient
state of New York’s election system.
There are three other elections
scheduled for this year: a June
Congressional primary, a September
primary for statewide offi ces and the
November general election.
And that’s still one too many
elections.
The September primaries, which
have to be moved back a couple of
days because they coincide with Rosh
Hashanah and 9/11 memorial observances,
are notorious for low turnout.
Few pay attention to politics during
the preceding weeks, at a time when
most people are focused on enjoying
the summer.
It’s nonsensical for New York state
not to have already moved the primaries
up to June and hold those contests
in conjunction with the Congressional
primaries. Such a move would maximize
public interest and turnout
while simultaneously saving the city
and state funds for operating polling
places during contests in which few
voters bother to show up.
As for the special election in April,
the state should change the election
law in order for such contests to take
place in June if the vacancy occurs
within the fi rst 60 days of the new
year. Vacancies that occur thereaft er
should be filled in the November
election.
Less is more for New York state
voters when it comes to special elections
and primaries. Concentrating
elections to just two days in a calendar
year would encourage more people to
pay attention and be active participants
in our democracy.
EDITORIAL
ESTABLISHED 1908
Co-Publishers
VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS
JOSHUA SCHNEPS
Editor-in-Chief
ROBERT POZARYCKI
Classifi ed Manager
DEBORAH CUSICK
Assistant Classifi ed Manager
MARLENE RUIZ
Reporter
RYAN KELLEY
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