We'll be circulating the Program to community groups across the city and to candidates for the upcoming municipal elections. As a result, tens of thousands of New Yorkers had to fight hard just to exercise their right to vote. And many thousands of others even lost their votes. Unless decisive action is taken, next fall's elections here could mirror the recent mess in Florida. Recruit more poll workers- and give them better training.
Elections are huge one-day operations.
More than 25,000 people serve at 1,300 polling sites. The Board of Elections is right to ask that the pay be significantly increased and for support to upgrade training, including distributing home training videos. Many more foreign language translators are also needed in a city as diverse as New York. It's a nightmare, with too few operators to handle the tidal wave of calls. The Board of Elections should get the funds its asked for to set up a new phone center, as well as to double operators at election time.