WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES OCTOBER 29, 2020 13
New Yorkers: Make your voting plan
BY LAURA WOOD AND JARRET BERG
Amid the ongoing uncertainty and
hardship wrought by the raging
COVID-19 pandemic, one bright
spot where relief has kept pace with the
public health emergency in New York is
the progress made reducing long-standing
barriers to voter access, by modernizing
our elections and improving voter
convenience.
Although there are evolving headwinds
to political participation, New York
is providing voters safe and convenient
options to make their voices heard at the
ballot box. For those who have not cast a
ballot since the midterm elections in 2018,
there are other ways to vote in 2020 instead
of the single Election Day, providing
residents with fl exible voting options to
OP-ED
choose from in the coming days.
Early Voting: Saturday, Oct. 24 – Sunday,
Nov. 1. Thanks to 2019 legislation that
created a reasonable in-person early voting
period, New York City will now off er
residents an additional 64 hours to vote
over nine days, including two weekends
and evening hours on select weekdays.
The early voting period started Saturday,
Oct. 24, and will run through Sunday,
Nov. 1. During this time, city voters may
visit their assigned early voting location
— one of 88 being deployed around the
city. Those who do will privately mark
and scan their ballot just as they would
on Election Day, minus the big crowds.
Casting a ballot during the early voting
period allows New Yorkers to maintain
adequate social distance while voting. By
spreading voters out over several days
instead of one marathon voting day, early
voting is one of the most prescient recent
reforms, adopted before social distancing
was understood to be a public health
benefi t. New Yorkers, always mindful
to wear their masks, have the option to
include voting early as they venture out
for groceries or run errands. One more
benefi t: Early voters avoid USPS logistics
entirely; there is no need to forage for
stamps.
Vote on Election Day: Tuesday, Nov.
3, from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.: New Yorkers are
still welcome to wait for Election Day, the
last opportunity to vote, when polls will
be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., but now they
have some really decent alternatives to
avoid crowding at poll sites. But we have
to spread the word so New Yorkers can
make informed voting plans.
That is why the Mayor’s Democracy
NYC Initiative, through an informal
consortium of agencies including the
Campaign Finance Board and voting
rights groups, have committed to educating
voters about these changes through
robust outreach in multiple languages directed
at voters in the communities hardest
hit by COVID-19, many of which also
have historically lower participation.
Many things about New York are
necessarily diff erent now, at least for the
time being. But one series of long-overdue
changes that need not sunset are the
many improvements to voter access.
Laura Wood is the Senior Advisor
and General Counsel at the Mayor’s
DemocracyNYC Initiative. Jarret Berg attorney
and co-founder of the non-partisan
VoteEarlyNY.
SNAPS
AUTUMN IS HERE
PHOTO SUBMITTED BY JAVIER FOJO
Send us your photos of Queens
and you could see them online or in our paper!
To submit them to us, tag @qnsgram on Instagram,
visit our Facebook page, tweet @QNS
or email editorial@qns.com (subject: Queens Snaps).
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
