By Scott Lewis
Voting process stays the same for November election
Hope that procedures to insure the integrity of the absentee balloting process for disabled voters in Long Beach nursing homes might be in place in time for this November's elections has faded with the decision of the Democratic Commissioner of the Nassau County Board of Elections to block their implementation.
Long-standing allegations of abusive voting practices in Long Beach nursing homes, where many residents receive absentee ballots, have been well-documented. Among the more serious charges are that the administrators of the homes illegally hold onto the ballots, and that they pressure senior citizens on voting day through threats and intimidation. There are over 500 absentee ballots in Long Beach.
There is currently a criminal investigation, stemming from the nursing home allegations, being conducted by District Attorney Denis Dillon based on irregularities found in the May 16, 2000 school election.
In hopes of putting an end to the absentee ballot controversy, which has long been a black eye on the face of the City, The League of Women Voters called on the Nassau County Board of Elections to implement a provision in the election law that would protect absentee voters. If implemented here, State Election Law 8-407 would provide for bi-partisan investigators to arrive at each adult nursing home and hand ballots directly to the permanently disabled voters.
While Nassau County Board of Elections (NCBE) Republican Commissioner John A. DeGrace voted for it, the Democratic Commissioner, Barbara Patton, abstained from voting, ensuring that the provision would not be applicable in the upcoming November 7 election.
The League of Women Voters says that Commissioner Patton's decision also ensures that the shady voting process will continue without a safeguard, and that the bad politics that have stained Long Beach for the past decade will continue to leave marks.
"If the Board of Elections did the right thing it would have restored some of the integrity to this process," said Barbara Bernardino, president of the League of Women Voters. "There is a provision in the law saying they may or may not implement, and with her knowing Long Beach's history, she chooses to abstain? It's absurd."
In explaining her abstention, Commissioner Patton told The Herald that if State Election Law 8-407 was implemented in Long Beach, it would have to also be implemented at each of the county's approximately 200 voting locations.
Democratic Deputy Commissioner Joe Galante says the cost of implementing the provision county-wide would approach $10,000. "We're facing a $4 million budget cut next year, and to send our own people and spend money we just felt there's no way we can justify it."
Instead of approving the provision, Commissioner Patton sent a letter to the adult nursing home administrators outlining the absentee ballot laws, and will require signature verification.
"All you need to do is pick up a paper to see the fiscal crisis [Nassau County is] in, and I mean crisis," Commissioner Patton said. "It comes down to, before we implement the law the way [The League of Women Voters] asked us to do it, if we could solve it with a rational alternative that's fiscally sound and at the same time ensure the rights of the people; that they have a chance to vote."
According to the League of Women Voters, which has been mainly represented on this issue by League Chairperson Mindy Warsaw, six documented incidents in the last decade involving the absentee ballots in Long Beach has set a precedent; a precedent that should result in the local implementation of State Election Law 8-407.
Of the 1,189 permanently disabled voters residing in nursing homes and adult homes in Nassau County to whom Section 8-407 would apply, 550, or 46 percent, live in Long Beach facilities, according to Ms. Warsaw. In contrast, only approximately 3 percent of Nassau's population calls Long Beach home
Though he is a high-ranking official in the county Democratic party, Gene Cammarato, the Long Beach Democratic Leader, says he, too, wants to see the provision passed. Mr. Cammarato says, however, that the absentee ballots have had no effect on previous elections, and that "the seniors lean to the Democratic side anyway because the Democrats are more of the people's party."
In a letter to The League of Women Voters, dated September 20, Mr. Cammarato said that he doesn't oppose the NCBE coming in and running the election because "when State Election Law 8-407 was implemented during the last General Election, absentee voter turnout increased as did our Democratic plurality."
"I would have no problem working with the board on finding a way to make it happen," Mr. Cammarato told The Herald. "I'll meet with the Republican leader and the Board of Elections members and let's sit down and figure out how we can do it financially.
"Let's get this out of the way," he added. "Let's remove this issue. You need the party leaders to step to the plate and get this done. If they're ready, I'm ready."
Unfortunately for those Long Beach residents in favor of State Election Law 8-407, Commissioner Patton isn't ready.
"Quite frankly, there is no higher authority that's going to tell me we have to implement the law," said Commissioner Patton, who is an appointee of Nassau County Democratic Chairman Thomas DiNapoli. "The law is the law, the fact that Mindy Warsaw got a bunch of people together to call fire, doesn't mean there is a fire."
