editorial 22 THE COURIER SUN • NOVEMBER 10, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com SNAPS QUEENS SUNSET // PHOTO BY ELSA LORENZO Send us your photos of Queens and you could see them online or in our paper! Submit them to us tag @queenscourier on Instagram, Facebook page, tweeting @queenscourier or by emailing [email protected] (subject: Queens Snaps). New York’s late to the voting party again For days before Election Day on Nov. 8, millions of Americans across the country had already their votes for president and other races in their states. No excuses were needed in pivotal states like Ohio, Nevada and Florida; if you felt like voting before Election Day, all you had to do was go down to your local polling place between the appointed hours and get on line. That option wasn’t available to Queens residents, who reside in one of just six states in this country where early voting wasn’t an option unless you had a good excuse that made you unavailable to show up at the polls on Election Day. If you had plans to head out of town or to be incapacitated for medical reasons on Nov. 8, you had to submit an absentee ballot in New York beforehand. Beyond that, you didn’t have an excuse. You had to show up at your local polling place come hell or high water during a 15-hour window of time on Election Day. This is nuts, and we’ve said so before in this space. New York politicians consider the Empire State to be the progressive capital of America, but we rely upon an antiquated voting system that limits the ability of people to participate in its democracy to its fullest extent. There were lines at most polling booths across Queens on Tuesday in this, the most hotly contested presidential election of our time. That need not be the case. There was also confusion among some who came expecting to be able to vote, but weren’t able to do so because their names weren’t on the register; those voters were forced to cast an affi davit ballot that may or may not be counted, depending on review by the city Board of Elections. Same-day registration is also unavailable. The voting registry is still reliant upon paper-and-pen. If it were computerized, people could be registered to vote and cast their ballot without having to worry about it being counted. New York really needs to get with the times when it comes to voting. The Empire State was last to adopt recommendations in the Help America Vote Act passed in the wake of the controversial 2000 presidential election. As recently as the 2013 citywide elections, we were voting with 50-year-old lever machines while the rest of the country had been voting with electronic devices for years. We call on our elected offi cials in New York State to pass legislation enabling early voting and same-day registration in time for next year’s local elections. A 21st century population requires a 21st century system of voting. It’s time for New York to make it happen. sun WWW.COURIERSUN.COM VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS BOB BRENNAN ROBERT POZARYCKI AMY AMATO-SANCHEZ NIRMAL SINGH STEPHEN REINA RON TORINA, JONATHAN RODRIGUEZ, CHERYL GALLAGHER EMILY DAVENPORT KATRINA MEDOFF, ANTHONY GIUDICE, ANGELA MATUA SUZANNE MONTEVERDI CLIFF KASDEN, SAMANTHA SOHMER, ELIZABETH ALONI JACLYN HERTLING DEBORAH CUSICK WARREN SUSSMAN CELESTE ALAMIN MARIA VALENCIA VICTORIA SCHNEPS-YUNIS JOSHUA A. SCHNEPS PUBLISHER & EDITOR CO-PUBLISHER ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER EDITOR-IN-CHIEF VP, EVENTS, WEB & SOCIAL MEDIA ART DIRECTOR ASSISTANT ART DIRECTOR ARTISTS SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER STAFF REPORTERS CONTRIBUTING REPORTERS EVENTS COORDINATOR ASSISTANT TO PUBLISHER SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE CLASSIFIED MANAGER CONTROLLER PRESIDENT & CEO VICE PRESIDENT Schneps Communications, 38-15 Bell Blvd., Bayside, NY 11361 718-224-5863 • Fax 718-224-5441 www.qns.com editorial e-mail: [email protected] for advertising e-mail: [email protected] Entire Contents Copyright 2016 by The Courier Sun All letters sent to THE COURIER SUN should be brief and are subject to condensing. Writers should include a full address and home and offi ce telephone numbers, where available, as well as affi liation, indicating special interest. Anonymous letters are not printed. Name withheld on request. No such ad or any part thereof may be reproduced without prior permission of THE COURIER SUN. The publishers will not be responsible for any error in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Errors must be reported to THE COURIER SUN within fi ve days of publication. Ad position cannot be guaranteed unless paid prior to publication. VIctoria Media Services assumes no liability for the content or reply to any ads. The advertiser assumes all liability for the content of and all replies. The advertiser agrees to hold THE COURIER SUN and its employees harmless from all cost, expenses, liabilities, and damages resulting from or caused by the publication or recording placed by the advertiser or any reply to any such advertisement. THE HOT TOPIC STORY: Smash-hit Netfl ix series “Orange is the New Black” fi lming in Kew Gardens on Friday SUMMARY: On Friday, Nov. 4, the hit Netfl ix series “Orange is the New Black” will be fi lming inside the Department of Corrections in Kew Gardens for their upcoming fi fth season. REACH: 6,507 people (as of 11/7/16)
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