The gang that couldn't count straight
Seems like a good time for a reminder that NYCBOE, uh, dysfunction far predates ranked-choice voting
8:59 PM · Jun 29, 2021·Twitter Web App
The above tweet posted by New York Times reporter Maggie Astor Tuesday night before the NY Board of Elections had to admit to a colossal blunder, says it all. New York elections were a mess before rank choice voting (rcv), we are reminded.
Whoever wins Gotham’s mayoral race now will enter office under a cloud — and it was so unnecessary.
New York vs. New Hampshire
Consider the sage words of New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner, a Democrat, about the value of simple voting rules. In the Granite State, he noted in testimony against HR 1, that his state constitution requires vote counts at each polling place the night of the election and requires in person voting unless a voter is out of town or physically disabled.
From 2004 through 2020, New Hampshire was among the five top states for voter participation in presidential elections, as this handy chart shows.
Do rules designed to make more people vote actually increase participation? Not over the long run.
Gardner resents House Democrats’ attempts to make his state count a al California, where teenagers can pre-register to vote. He asked rhetorically,
Do you remember it took California weeks after the 2020 election to finish counting all the votes?
Why are progressives so enamored with expanding so-called “voting rights”? Because they have more faith in gimmicks than persuasion. They tell themselves they are increasing voter engagement while they are feeding voter estrangement.
Debra J. Saunders is a fellow at the Discovery Institute's Chapman Center for Citizen Leadership. Contact her at dsaunders@discovery.org.