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| May 05, 2024 |
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General News: Petition Seeks Longer Voting Hours
December 02, 2010
Candidates for village mayor and trustee can pick up their petitions to run for office later this month, but one village resident has been thinking ahead about the local election that will be held on March 15th.
Betsy Turner said that she has been concerned because the polls don’t open until noon in village elections and she believes that some residents don’t get to vote because of that. That’s why she started a petition of her own urging the village to begin voting at 6 am and run until 9 pm, the same hours the polls are open in the general election in November.
Turner said that she thinks other voters may be inconvenienced by the late opening of the polls. She commutes to New York City and to Westchester for her job and that she cannot always get back before the polls close at 9 pm. “I wanted to bring it to people’s attention and if it is possible to expand the hours, we can get an early start on it,” she said in a phone interview.
Turner said virtually everyone she spoke with supports her idea and she delivered the petition with 100 signatures to the village this week. Tthe board of trustees has not yet had a meeting to discuss her appeal.
David Green, an Orange County commissioner of elections said that the county doesn’t get involved in village elections, which are run by the village clerk. State law saws that the polls must be open from at least the hours noon to nine o'clock in the evening.
Meanwhile, residents who are interested in running for mayor or for one of two open trustee seats may pick up a petition at village hall starting December 28th. People need to collect at least 75 signatures to become a candidate for office.
Comments:
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So who's volunteering to be one of the several polling-place workers who will have to get up at oh-dark-thirty so the polls can open at 0600?
Absentee ballots work just fine for those who can't physically appear to vote for whatever reason.
posted by Stephan Wilkinson on 12/02/10 at 12:31 PM
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I agree that it's a very long day for those who run elections. But I believe they should be designed to encourage live voting, not suppress it.
My view is that we should have fewer elections and they should be as convenient as it is possible to make them.
posted by Jon Chase on 12/02/10 at 6:17 PM
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I'm willing to serve at the polls. If they will be using the new Voting machines, I have worked them on the elections and primary. Now is the time for responsible and dedicated residents of the village to run for office. This is an opportunity to restore the Village. Let's do Cornwall-on-Hudson proud by 100% turnout. It's going to be a few rough years. Like Harry Truman, "Let the buck stop here". Maybe it's time for a female Mayor. Ed
posted by Edward Flynn on 12/05/10 at 10:17 AM
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