Don't get us wrong: we love us some Jimmy McMillan. He looks like Papa Smurf, he has awesome music videos, and a connoisseurs eye for gloves. Hell, we've had no evidence that there is anyone in the Rent Is Too Damn High Party besides him, so he really is a one-man political wrecking crew. But now, Jimmy may be taking it a bit too far by suing the Board of Elections for taking the word "damn" off of his ballot line...in 2006 and 2009. more ›

After less than three months on the job and a primary election that Mayor Bloomberg deemed a "royal screwup," the head of the Board of Elections was dismissed today by the Board's commissioners. George Gonzalez, who started at the $172,753 job in mid-August, is described as a "product of the Bronx Democratic party" by the Daily News. Some of the party leaders in the Bronx were reportedly pushing hard to keep him in the position, but Board President Julie Dent tells the Daily Politics, "The board has voted to terminate our executive director, George Gonzalez... He's been with the board for 22 years, and again, we appreciate it." more ›

Though they're still trying to convince voters that the primary elections weren't as bad as everyone thought, the Board of Elections may have landed themselves in some more hot water. Because apparently they don't care about the troops! The New York City and Westchester, Putnam, Erie and Niagara Boards of Elections all missed an October 1st deadline to send absentee ballots to the troops and residents overseas, which jeopardizes their ability to vote in the November 2nd elections on time. more ›

After spending $90,000 on a survey about the infamous primary election snafus, the Board of Elections says that most voters walked away with a favorable view of the new voting process, which featured the debut of the electronic optical scan voting machines. Despite widespread reports of disorganized polling sites opening late and missing machines, only 6% of those surveyed reported having "major issues." Of course, as the Daily News notes, that adds up to about 20,700 of the 345,000 voters that day. And the survey only included people who actually were able to vote, not the untold number who were turned away because, for example, workers closed the polling site while waiting for new machines to arrive. more ›

Politicians slammed The Board of Elections yesterday for the confusion, malfunctions and disorder that defined the debut of the city's new optical scanning voting machines on Primary Day. And along with the public shaming of board director George Gonzalez, new revelations came to light about why so much went sideways that day. Take this, for instance: about 80 polling places at public schools opened late after long delays. Why? Well, for starters, Gonzalez didn't e-mail school administrators to request that custodians come in early to open the schools until 5:36 p.m. the night before the frickin' election! more ›

Embattled Bronxchester State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. held a dramatic press conference yesterday to hit back at Democratic officials trying to oust him from the party. Brandishing a thick stack of 10,000 petition signatures in support of his re-election campaign, Espada stood outside a Board of Elections office and shouted, "Ten thousand Democrats, they have said you will not dis-enroll us you will not disenfranchise us. We want Pedro on the ballot. He is our Democrat. He's our senator... The attacks against me are attacks against the community I represent, who are Latinos, working class African-Americans. I am a Christian, I am Catholic, I am God-fearing, and I have God on my side." more ›

A powerful Board of Elections official is in trouble after co-workers ratted him out for smoking at his desk. Several sources told NY1 that George Gonzalez is constantly puffing while at work—not only stinking up the office and putting their health at risk, but flouting anti-smoking legislation. And that’s not all: he’s been the subject of (unconfirmed) smoking allegations in the past. After Gonzalez viewed this video of the act, obtained by the station, he admitted he was smoking, but said it was just the one time. (Sure, and he didn’t inhale either.) According to laws for city employees, he may have to pay a fine of up to $2,000. more ›

Federal prosecutors are investigating the Board of Elections' $50 million contract with ES&S, a Nebraska company contracted to supply the city with its first electronic voting machines. The machines were due to be set up by the September primaries, but may not be in place due to the probe. The Post reports that US Attorney Preet Bharara has served subpoenas to determine if the Board of Elections was bribed to choose ES&S over Dominion Voting of Toronto. more ›

The Board of Elections has selected a company to replace the city's iconic — though outdated — voting machines with a process that's more like taking a standardized test than pulling a lever. The Omaha-based company Election Systems and Software won the $50 million contract because board members found its machines easiest to read and use, particularly for immigrants and disabled. more ›

How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law. more ›

We have our own protracted election drama in the city: The Board of Elections is still counting ballots in the State Senate race between incumbent Frank Padavan (R) and City Councilman James Gennaro (D). Padavan leads by over 500 votes now, but now over 8,000 absentee and emergency paper ballots are being tallied amid charges from the Democratic Party like how the Republicans are only challenging votes of minority voters. (A judge will eventually decided what happens with the ballot.) Well, at least our BOE doesn't have to deal with the Senate recount in Minnesota--they use Scantron-style voting forms and some voters were messy-- or wrote in "Lizard People" while still filling in a circle for Al Franken. See the zany ballots here. more ›

“No buttons. No posters. No leaflets. No. None.” That's the friendly reminder New Yorkers are getting from the city's Board of Elections in regards to showing your colors when you head to the polls this Tuesday. This doesn't just apply for your "I Support Joe the Plumber" contemporary shwag. A NY Times reader was asked to remove her four-decade-old “Lindsay for Mayor” button on a previous Election Day. And despite a brouhaha earlier this week over concern about the preparedness of the BOE, Mayor Bloomberg tells us he expects all systems to be a go come Tuesday. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg criticized the city's Board of Elections, after BOE officials said Election Day could be chaotic, "This is a joke...this public is badly served by this agency as any city or state thing I've seen." more ›

Over the weekend Rock the Vote was accused by the New York Times of botching the registration of possibly 40,000 would-be New York voters. According to the article, the online registration forms for New Yorkers on Rock the Vote's website are addressed to the New York State Board of Elections, which does not handle voter registrations. As a result, the Board of Elections has had to redirect over 100,000 forms to the county election boards, and now there's a huge backlog. Today Rock the Vote is firing back at the Times, declaring in a statement that "they got the story dead wrong":

Twice in writing the Board of Elections confirmed that Rock the Vote gives registrants the correct mailing address. See the emails here. And today, the EAC again confirmed that our system is "current and correct."...A modest journalistic effort would have revealed what Rock The Vote has been warning for some time: elections officials nationwide are not prepared to process the enormous number of new voter registrations that have been submitted in this election cycle.

If you are one of the 100,000 people in New York who attempted to register to vote this year via Rock the Vote, you may want to check in on the status of your registration. The Times reports that each and every one of those forms was sent to the wrong address, leaving the state's election board in chaos as they attempt to get the forms to their home county, where they should have been sent originally. While Rock the Vote denies responsibility, the Times does little to veil cynicism toward the organization on everything from the bravado they use in taking credit for getting out the youth vote to their corporate partnerships with AT&T and XBox. With real concern that "if anyone is not going to follow up on this, it would be the younger demographic,” we strongly recommended that anyone who used Rock the Vote to register check in with the NYC Board of Elections site to find out the status of their registration. Election Day is only ten days away! more ›

The voter registration in NY State is today. If you haven't registered yet, the AP explains, "Only completed voter registration forms postmarked by midnight and received no later than October 15th will be valid for the upcoming general election." Additionally, if you've moved to a new county you need to reregister from your new address (and if you've moved within the county, you don't need to reregister by you should update your address with the board of elections). Here's the state Board of Elections website, the NYC Board of Election website, and the postal service's website so you can look up post offices. Additionally, the NJ deadline is October 14 (state Division of Elections website; more info) and Connecticut's is October 28 (state Secretary of State website). more ›

Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the unofficial results from NYC's primary night undercounted votes in 78 districts. These districts' unofficial results raised eyebrows because no votes at all were recorded Barack Obama. more ›