Editorial: Democracy on hold timesunion.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesunion.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
TROY, N.Y. â Rensselaer County Board of Elections Commissioners Jason Schofield and Edward McDonough and the Rensselaer County Board of Elections (BOE) have decided to appeal a ruling made by the Rensselaer County Supreme Court on June 7, regarding early voting sites.Â
The initial ruling by Judge Adam W. Silverman of the Rensselaer County Supreme Court said that BOEâs decision not to place a site in a centrally located area within Troy is arbitrary and capricious, and must be annulled and sided in favor of a lawsuit brought about by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, contesting the location and accessibility of the county s three early voting locations for low-income and minority communities.Â
For almost three years now, we have been attempting to expose the lack of equity and accessibility to early voting sites for residents living in the City of Troy. The cry for media coverage related to, what many refer to as blatant voter suppression in Rensselaer County, has largely been ignored.
Last year, we joined with Senator Neil Breslin and Assemblyman John McDonald to pass legislation that would strengthen laws related to early voting. Our efforts were rewarded when the Stateâs Early Voting Law was amended, requiring Boards of Elections to locate early voting sites where a majority of the population lives making voting for citizens easier and more accessible. Rensselaer County did not comply.