Resident, Helen Krim, has contacted Norwood News to raise an urgent voting issue which she believes may mislead voters of City Council District 11.

 

Krim wrote, “I received a publication from NYCVotes.org. The about page states, ‘NYC Votes is an initiative of the New York City Campaign Finance Board, the independent city agency that ensures local elections are fair, inclusive, and open’.” Krim continued, “Page 14 of that publication announces, ‘There is no Primary Election in City Council District 11’.” She added, “This is not true. There is a very important primary election for the Bronx District Attorney in District 11. Incumbent Darcel Clark is being challenged by Tess Cohen.”

 

Krim continued, “It is urgent that this misinformation be corrected before early voting ends and the primary election is completed. A mistake of this kind favors the incumbent and misleads voters into not voting. It is anything but open and fair.”

 

Krim said she assumed it was simply a mistake on the part of the editor of the publication, but that the impact is terrible. “I rely on the press to correct that error for the citizens of The Bronx, as district attorney is a boroughwide office,” Krim wrote. “The same mistake may have been made in other Bronx districts where there is no challenger for the incumbent city councilman.”

 

Krim concluded, “When I told my husband it was time to go to vote, he told me there was no election, and showed me this booklet. I know the booklet was widely circulated, because when I mentioned it at the polls, the workers said they had received it also, but that there was an election in district 11. The lower right-hand corner of the front page identifies the source as the Campaign Finance Board. The next email shows the page for district 11.”

 

Meanwhile, on the NYC Votes website, while it does state there is no City Council race in District 11, a further section heading underneath this reads, “Other Offices on Your Ballot.” The website extract continues, “In addition to City Council, there may be additional non-city offices on your ballot, depending on your political party and where you live.” It then lists the following offices:

• District Attorney
• Civil Court
• Delegates to the Judicial Convention
• Alternate Delegates to the Judicial Convention
• County Committee
• District Leader

 

The extract continues, “To find a complete list of races on your ballot, including candidates, you can visit the Board of Elections’ Poll Site Locator and enter in your address. After you enter your address, click ‘View Sample Ballot’ at the top of the page.” On visiting the Board of Elections’ Poll Site Locator site and on entering an address, the “View Sample Ballot” box appears. Once clicked, the names of the two candidates for the Bronx District Attorney’s race are listed.

 

It would arguably seem, therefore, that in terms of even the website, the combination of these additional steps, across two different websites, slightly complicates what should be an easy way for voters to find out who is on the ballot in the area where they live.

 

As of close of polls on June 18, 1,602 Bronx voters had cast their ballots. Norwood News has reached out to both NYC Votes and the NYC Board of Elections about the resident’s concerns and will update this story upon receipt of any feedback.

 

Early voting started on Saturday, June 17, and continues through Sunday, June 25. Click here to find your early voting site and hours. Request an absentee ballot in person by Monday, June 26. To find your borough Board of Elections office, click here.

 

BronxNet will broadcast a debate between the candidates, moderated by host, Gary Axelbank, on Monday, June 19, 10 p.m.  It will be rebroadcast at the following times on BronxNet’s Optimum 67 and Fio 2133:

 

It will also be available on BronxNet.org and on YouTube after 10.30 p.m. on Monday, June 19.