Board of Elections Need Citizen Involvement to Keep Records Updated
By Janine Bowen
Residents in Putnam County may be receiving a postcard in the mail this week that the Putnam Board of Elections is urging people to pay attention to.
Each year, the Putnam County Board of Elections is required by law to send out a mail check card to all registered voters, to ensure that their information is correct and up to date. Often times though, a card is sent to an address even when the original registered voter no longer resides there. When this happens, residents are suppose to send the card back, which many don’t take the time to do.
“There’s a fair amount of money that’s spent doing this and getting that response back from homeowners would help us a lot,” said Democratic Commissioner Cathy Croft.
According to Croft, 56,687 cards were mailed out last year and only 2,614 were returned to the board with corrections. Of course, if a voter receives a card that is correct, no action needs to be taken, but if one is received and is addressed to a former resident, all the recipient needs to do is place a return to sender note on the card, as well as a message saying the addressee no longer resides at that address, and send it back at no cost.
Croft stated that it is important for residents to return the cards because it allows the Board of Elections to keep accurate and updated voter registration information. This information is used to determine the total number of registered voters in the County as well as by candidates who go door-to-door collecting signatures for petitions to run for office.
Although many residents will tell a candidate that the original registered voter no longer lives at the address on record, the Board of Elections needs written documentation before they can remove the address from the list.
“Technically, we can’t take the voter off the rolls at that point,” Croft said. “We can’t even make them inactive. We need something in writing from the homeowner.”
Republican Commissioner Anthony Scannapieco stated that, when people don’t return the cards, the result is an inflated voter count for the area, which then skews the estimate of how many registered voters show up on Election Day. He noted that a 30% voter turnout could really be 40%, because the Board of Elections is counting people who may no longer reside in Putnam County amongst the registered voter population. This problem is especially abundant among young voters, who leave for college or move away from home.
“It helps us to know who is here and who’s not,” he said of returning the mail check cards.
Scannapieco stated that many people move to Dutchess or Westchester Counties, without changing their voter information, and then attempt to return to Putnam to vote, which is illegal.
Croft explained that, if residents wish to register to vote in the County, they can do so online or pick up a registration form at their local library, school, or town hall. In addition, they could contact the Board of Elections, who will mail them the proper forms.
