Tim Robbins "Resents" Board of Elections For Blaming Voting Mess on Him

More on Tim Robbins Voter-gate! City Room has a thorough exposé on what went wrong for the Tapeheads star on Election Day, when he showed up to vote at the YMCA on West 14th Street and was told that his name was not in the Poll List Book. His misadventures got a lot of media attention after he refused to fill out a provisional ballot, accused poll workers of trying to "intimidate" him, and finally got a judge at the Board of Elections office to issue an order permitting him to vote.

Now Robbins is even more outraged because the Board of Elections has made public a letter [pdf] they sent to the Howard the Duck star blaming the whole mess on him. After digging through the records, they determined that in 2004 he registered under the name Timothy F. Robbins using the address of his office on West 19th Street. Because of that, he was supposed to vote at a different location.

Spokeswoman Valerie Vazquez-Rivera told the Times, "We were confused, but he shouldn’t have been confused. It was confusing for us to try to piece it together, but it’s all very logical: He filled out a new voter-registration form with an entirely new address, and went to the old address.”

Robbins says he's been voting at the Y since 1997 and does not recall re-registering with his office address. Also too, the Cradle Will Rock director is seriously pissed at the Board of Elections people for sending his public voter-registration records to reporters: "I resent that my address has been published and my family’s safety has been compromised by their attempt to explain their ineptitude...They’re saying it was my mistake, and I resent that...I’m glad this is getting attention, because I’m not the only one. There were lots of people at my polling place and throughout the city who came and saw their names off the rolls."

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By John Del Signore in News on November 11, 2008 9:53 AM

Comments [rss]

EastRiver

One source I read says Robbins registered in 1997 under the name Tim Robbins with an address on West 15th Street. In February 2004 he registered again as Timothy F. Robbins listing an address on West 19th Street. That second address is allegedly his office. the first registration is the one that was voided.

Note that he registered again, he did not submit a change of address form.

I wonder if this will turn out to be wrong information but it certainly makes Tim or Timothy look like an ass.

ANGRYGOD11

Even if you lived in the same location for decades, things change. Districts change. You didn't move, but the political lines could .

ZeroK

Look, Obama won, okay?

Can't we all finally come together and agree that Tim Robbins is and has always been an irritating douche-bag?

thefacts

@HowBoutDemCowboys #13

FYI,I happen to be a Democratic foot-soldier, volunteering at poll sites to make sure the Republicans or the Bd of Elections don't mess around with the voters. I have no idea of this arrogant jerk's party affiliation.

What he did was grandstanding and wasted other's time. Who knows, perhaps the delay he caused forced others to leave the site in frustration at the delay.

He should have simply filed an Affidavit ballot, shut up, gone home, and stop acting like the arrogant jerk that gives liberals a bad name.

NYDirk

Damn all those Bushies at the NY Board of Elections.

camarilla

Not remembering where you registered and blaming someone else for your mistakes, then throwing a hissy fit because said party attempts to clear their name / show the mistake wasn't their fault, is very arrogant, regardless of whether there's a D or R next to your name. I'd say the adjective applies equally.

Guest

#11, that wasn't my point. My point was that Tim Robbins is a Democrat so #1 decided to call him arrogant. If the same thing had happend to a Republican, I'm sure #1 would have been sympathetic instead of dismissive. It had nothing to do with whether the PUBLIC records.

berniegoetz

Tim Robbins is a pretty big guy to feel "intimidated" by poll workers. Half the people at my polling station were in wheelchairs and the other half were well over the age of 60. Of course the YMCA could recruit guys from its weight room so maybe there's a grain of reason to this after all.

camarilla

#3.

Yes, he would have said the same thing. Believe it or not, the PUBLIC voter registration records list the Republicans too. Anyone can walk in and request a copy. I have a copy (from when I worked on a campaign, it's several years old now).

NYer Too

See Timmy, we have a few rules about voting. Not many rules, but a few.

One of them being that you have to go vote in your assigned, ummm, place to go vote.

It's terribly inconvenient, I'm sure, for someone of your station in life to follow rules, but it's all designed to keep people like your pals at ACORN from committing election fraud.

I'm sure you understand.

geekyfemme

Tim may have screwed up the voting address, but otherwise did what he should have done. All voters are entitled to have a judge hear their case on election day - this is not special to celebrities. No one should vote with a provisional ballot if they have done everything right without seeing a judge first. Provisional ballots are far inferior to voting machines.

DevoutNYer

So, why doesn't he have a voter registration card with the new address? When you register to vote, you get one. Then when you go to vote, you show it to the nice lady.

And why would someone re-register to vote at a different address?

spreetaper

the BoE is useless

I registered to vote received a mailing from them telling me where to vote and I was not in their books

I had to fill out a provisional ballot...

I though do not have all the time in the world like Mr Robbins to go to the BoE to complain but I'm glad somebody did... they need to get their act together and also buy some machines made during my lifetime

Politburo

Seems like both sides are acting like little bitches.. but Robbins did start it.

chuzzlewit

i'll bet the fraternity vacation star feels a little sheepish about going to the wrong place to vote...

Guest

#1, Would you have said the same thing if he were a Republican? Or do you play the same childish partisan games of name calling that got the country into the mess it's in now?

Mr Mel

Come on. Tim, I've voted at four or five different locations since I moved in to my present address 21 years ago. In most cases, the Board of Elections, mails a card at the start of the primary or election seasons informing us where to vote. You may have gotten it and looked at the side printed in Chinese or Russian, or you have someone else open and filter your mail. You were wrong, it is not a plot to prevent you from voting.