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    • In The Aftermath Of The District 27 Special Election, Assemblyman Colton Aims To Regulate Absentee Voting


    by on May 10th, 2012

    Source: Sheepshead Bites. Storobin (l) and Fidler (r).

    The allegations of fraud that came forward during the State Senate District 27 special election between Democrat Lew Fidler and Republican David Storobin were a call to action for Assemblyman William Colton. He decided to put forth a bill to better regulate absentee voting.

    The bill was recently introduced and is waiting for Senate sponsorship.

    Colton said this bill would clear things up for future elections, “This is a second layer of protection to avoid possible fraud and confusion in the counting of ballots,” he told the New York Daily News.

    The legislation states that election officials will have to make a note in front of a voter’s name if a voter requests an absentee ballot. Then, if the voter shows up at a polling place, they would not be allowed to vote in person. They can only vote through an absentee ballot.

    In the race for Carl Kruger’s seat, absentee voter fraud allegations came to the forefront of the election. Fidler’s camp claimed that a Storobin staff member included both absentee and in-person ballots from voters.

    Colton aims to create a definitive end for this controversial situation.

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    • Stillwell

      While well intentioned, this bill does not produce a good solution to the problem described. Firstly, in the matter of Fidler v. Storobin, the court has basically ruled Fidler’s case to be based on conjecture, as the ballots were all ordered to be counted. This outcome clearly shows us that there is no actual problem with our absentee system, Fidler’s legal team just tried to create a problem. Secondly, in the State of New York we do not have early voting, or mail-in voting as many other states do. Therefore, if at any time a person is capable of voting in person, it is their responsibility to do so thereby nullifying their absentee vote. There’s no confusion, no double-vote, no drama. This happens routinely in our elections and it is preferable, as among other things, it gives people until the last possible moment to decide for whom they will vote. That being said, if Mr. Colton wishes to proposes any real changes to NY’s voting, he’d do well to write legislation proposing early or mail-in voting. This bill is nice in theory, but would fail in practice.