NYC Board of Elections Braces for Big Voter Turnout on Nov. 6

The New York City Board of Elections is bracing for big numbers at the polls on Nov. 6 and has ordered the same number of ballots it usually gets in presidential races. 

They're basing their prediction on the turnout for the September primary, when 861,269 New Yorkers voted, nearly triple the number that voted in the 2014 gubernatorial race.

"You don't want to see the wrath of the voters when they can't vote or they have a problem voting," Board of Elections Commissioner Alan Schulkin said at Tuesday meeting. "I'd rather be safe and have enough ballots than save a few dollars and not have enough ballots."

The commissioners settled on ordering ballots for 110 percent of registered voters, in case ballots get caught in scanners or have to be thrown out for other reasons. Also of concern this year: Each ballot is two pages and double-sided, which some commissioners fear might get snagged by scanners. 

Despite the uptick in September, only about 25 percent of registered Democratic voters cast ballots, still indicative of New York's abysmal voter turnout rates that advocates blame on antiquated state laws like staggered federal and state primaries, and deadlines to register with a party months in advance of elections.

Here's a sample ballot: 

Sample Ballot for Nov. 6 2018 by WNYCNewsroom on Scribd