FROM COUNTY LEGISLATOR LYNDON WILLIAMS FACEBOOK PAGE
Yesterday at 1:43 PM ·
I’m concerned about the delay of mail delivery from the U.S. Postal Service and its impact on the deadlines for voters mailing absentee ballots. For example, a constituent informed me yesterday that it took 25 days for a postcard to be delivered from an address in zip code 10552 to another address in the same 10552 zip code. This year voting on MV School Board, School Budget, and Public Library budget and trustees can only be done by absentee ballots.
E MAIL I RECEIVED FROM THE CO-CHAIR OF THE NEW YORK STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS
From: Kellner, Douglas (ELECTIONS) <Douglas.Kellner@elections.ny.gov>
Sent: Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:40 PM
To: Paul Feiner
Cc: Spano, Andrew J (ELECTIONS); Brehm, Robert (ELECTIONS); Connolly, Thomas (ELECTIONS); RAL4@Westchestergov.com; david.buchwald@gmail.com; amypaulin@gmail.com; estroff@nysenate.gov; higgins@nysenate.gov; tjaesq@aol.com; jnonna@westchestergov.com; okeefek@nyassembly.gov; Quail, Brian (ELECTIONS)
Subject: Voting by mail
EXTERNAL: Do not click links or open attachments if you do not recognize the sender.
Dear Supervisor Feiner,
I appreciate your very thoughtful letter regarding the problems with relying on the US Postal Service to have such an important role in the administration of our elections. This has been an issue that has concerned me for many years. This has also been a significant topic in our advice to the Executive Chamber as they draft Governor Cuomo’s emergency executive orders. If I had more time I would share some of our proposals, but I could summarize by indicating that we insisted that there must still be an option to vote in person, both in early voting and on election day to assure that everyone has an option to vote regardless of the adequacy of mail delivery--all the while we are encouraging most to vote by mail in view of the pandemic.
We still need to address security issues relating to mailed ballots, and to assure that the Postal Service makes timely delivery of voted ballots to the county boards of elections.
These are challenging times and I will keep you in mind as we try to flesh out these issues in the very short time available.
Doug
Douglas A. Kellner
Co-Chair, New York State Board of Elections
A SAMPLE COMPLAINT I RECEIVED FROM CONSTITUENT WHO DID NOT RECEIVE MAIL
Dear Mr. Feiner:
I hope you are well. I wanted to make you aware that our local U.S. Mail delivery is still a problem. I live in Edgebrook Cooperative in North White Plains. Recently, I had ordered a box of facial masks due to Covid-19 from Amazon.com and they were to be delivered by the U.S. Postal service. They were going to take some time to arrive so I waited weeks and then checked my account at Amazon and it was noted that they were delivered last week, April 23, 2020, but I had never received them. They may have made it to the local post office, but I never received them. What concerns me is that those in my household are still waiting for their
Stimulus checks from the government and also for a drivers license renewal. Please let me know if anyone is looking into the incompetency of the local U.S. Postal service.
Please kindly confirm receipt of my email and let me now if there is anyone else that I should contact.
Thank you,
Mary