This is being written due to the fact that I Robert Press a reporter for several Newspapers and co-host of a weekly political television show, have covered elections in the Bronx for the past seven year with official NYC Board of Elections media identification, but have not had one election where a site coordinator did not know their job and that goes for both parties. This letter could not be emailed to you.
One time a coordinator said I couldn't survey the number of votes on the ballot scanning machine without a poll watchers certificate after showing the BOE media ID that states in the first paragraph I can observe, film (with restrictions on the second page), survey, record results, and or voter poll within a poll site (at least 100 feet from the entrance). One time a coordinator wanted to keep the BOE media ID. One time during a special election at the Bronx Science Early Voting poll site a person who said he was a technician said that the media ID was phoney, and I had to wait for the Democratic Bronx Borough director to clear the situation who apologized to me for what had happened. The second time I went to the poll site two days later the entrance door was locked. After banging on the door several times someone opened it, but the precinct was called because it was said I was making a disturbance. when the officers arrived they looked at the two pages of Media ID left, and I got another apology from the Democratic Bronx Borough Director. I would get a third apology two day later when I was told there is a bell on the door to ring which was down on the Handicap sign for people in wheelchairs to push for assistance. I was rudely treated again inside, and for the third time the Democratic Bronx Borough Board Director apologized to me. Last year one of the poll workers at a site I know began to speak to me and the coordinator yelled out don't talk to the poll workers.
There are several other times things occurred with coordinators, but what last year when I went into the Morris Park poll site to vote, I had complained that there were poll workers sitting behind the voters booth, and I was told they are eating lunch. I said I wanted privacy they can eat their lunch somewhere else. After I voted I came back in and was given a hard time by one of the coordinators after signing in and showing the BOE media ID.
This year after voting at the Morris Park poll site I said hello to one of the poll workers I know. When I returned after going outside to show the BOE media ID and sign in, I was given a look by one of the coordinators who was at the poll site last year and did not like that I came back in as a media person. The second day I came in I had a hard time with the female coordinator who said I was not wearing my NYC police issued ID which I had in my shirt pocket and immediately put on when I noticed it was not on. The female coordinator then asked the officer to remove me from the site. I showed him the BOE Media ID and he called his superior who came to the site in a few minutes. The Sergeant did not know about the media ID and in order not to make a scene inside the poll site I chose to walk out of the site. I went back the fourth day after hearing a male Democratic candidate filmed a female Republican candidate going into the bathroom at the Morris Park poll site the day before. I signed in and asked both coordinators about the incident. They said to call the Board of Elections who still hasn't called me back after Early Voting has ended. I returned the next day to the Morris Park poll site signed in did the survey of the amount of votes in the machines, used the bathroom, and left said good bye to my friend. I skipped one day to do the survey again after signing in, and had to wait this time as there were more poll voting booths this year with some in front of the bathroom doors. this time there was a voter in one of the booth so I waited until they finished to use the bathroom. On the last day of early voting I came in towards the end of the day signed in showed the BOE media ID, and observed one of the poll workers giving a voter a ballot then giving the voter a second piece of paper that he had written on. I mentioned thi to the male coordinator who said not to worry about it. After ten minutes the female coordinator asked the police officer to remove me that I had spent enough time in the poll site as a poll watcher. I showed the officer the BOE media credentials which said I could record results which meant after the poll site closed, and there was no set time for me to stay inside to which this officer agreed and let me stay. I had gone outside for a minute before to see the female coordinator say to a voter you can not take that (a palm card) inside with you, put it in your pocket. The previous election August 23, 2022 I was in Riverdale with Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz the former Bronx Democratic County Committee Chair who gave a palm card to a voter saying that the voter could take it inside the poll site to find the candidate on the palm card. He reassured me that he knows New York State Election Law.
Mr. Ryan I would like to know why I have these problems with the Bronx poll site coordinators as I know what to do and have been doing it for years. I have been told they are not trained right, it's an open book test, and some other things you don't want me to mention. This year it seems to be a close race in the 80th Assembly District and certain experienced poll coordinators there on the Democratic side have been removed at the last minute so inexperienced poll coordinators or those loyal to the Democratic candidate in the 80th A.D. who were placed there by the Bronx Democratic Party at the last minute.
Robert Press
Bronx Chronicle, and several other news outlets.
100percentbronxnews@gmail.com
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