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.
The original deadline was September 17th, but because primaries were held on September 14th, New York got an extension. Now the board is trying to extend the deadline for returning the ballots, which must be postmarked by November 1st. Senator Chuck Schumer said, "There is absolutely no excuse for failing to get this done," and Mayor Bloomberg asked, "We send our young men and women overseas to fight and die for us, and we don't care enough to make sure they get the right to exercise their franchise?" Not if it means actually having to meet a deadline!
There are currently 49,468 registered overseas voters in the state, 36,446 of which are registered in the five boroughs. Absentee ballots are counted until 13 days after Election Day, so if those lazy troops can just stop dicking around for a second and send them back we should have no problem.
