Subpoenas in Contested State Senate Race Draw Anger by Jonathan P. Hicks - NYTimes.com

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The unresolved State Senate contest between Senator Frank Padavan, a Republican, and his Democratic challenger, James F. Gennaro, moves on Tuesday into a Queens courtroom, where nearly a dozen college students have been subpoenaed to verify their residences.

Republican lawyers have challenged the votes of students, mostly from St. John’s University, saying that they filled out affidavit ballots with addresses that were not their permanent residences. In the paper ballot count, Mr. Padavan is leading by about 600 votes, but about 1,000 more ballots remained to be counted and the validity of an additional 2,000 must still be reviewed.

While the challenges and subpoenas have angered students, who are being forced to appear during exams, they underscore the high stakes attached to winning the Senate seat in Queens. The Democrats now have at least 32 seats in the Senate, giving them a majority for the first time in more than 40 years. But three dissident Democrats have yet to pledge their support for the would-be majority leader, Malcolm A. Smith. That limits him, at the moment, to 29 votes in the 62-member body.

A victory by Mr. Gennaro would bring the Republicans down to 29 seats and provide Mr. Smith with 30 votes. One of the dissident Democrats, Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., says he would not vote for a Republican leader. So, at the very least, a Gennaro win would improve the prospects for Mr. Smith.

Steven H. Richman, the general counsel at the New York City Board of Elections, said that under state law, a student can vote from a polling place near either his or her permanent address or a college address.

“A college student has the option,” Mr. Richman said. “If you’re living on campus, you have the right to register and vote from that district. Or you can register from your parents’ address. You just can’t vote in two places.”

Democratic officials said they were incensed by the subpoenas. “It’s outrageous that this is the lesson that Republicans want to teach young voters,” said, a spokesman for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. “They are teaching students that they can be dragged into court just for fulfilling their civic duty. It’s absolutely outrageous.”

In an interview, Mr. Padavan defended the issuing of the subpoenas. “These students have permanent residences that are great distances from the 11th Senatorial District, as evidenced by their driver’s licenses and other materials,” he said. “The question is whether they are valid voters. And if they are not valid voters, their vote shouldn’t count. It’s as simple as that.”

Cristina Fernandez, a student at St. John’s, said by phone that it was more convenient to vote near the school. “Even though my parents live in Manhattan, I live right here in Queens and didn’t see any reason to vote back in Manhattan when I could register to vote right here in the neighborhood,” said Ms. Fernandez, a senior majoring in accounting.

“I was so excited to vote this year,” she added. “But then I had some man showing up on my doorstep issuing me a subpoena because the Republicans are trying to challenge my vote. So, I have to go to court in the middle of finals, instead of studying. It makes you not want to vote ever again.”

Queens Senator in Votes Storm by Juan Gonzalez - NY Daily News

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A still-undecided state Senate contest in Queens turned ugly Tuesday as Democrats accused Sen. Frank Padavan's supporters of launching a massive effort to discard paper ballots cast by minority voters.

"They are systematically trying to exclude Asians, Hispanics and Democrats from the count," said Michael Reich, executive secretary of the Queens Democratic Party.

Preliminary results showed the Republican senator, who has represented the 11th Senatorial District for more than 35 years, with a 732-vote lead over his Democratic challenger, City Councilman James Gennaro.

That made the race too close to call, since more than 8,300 paper ballots - 10% of the turnout - had not been counted.

They included absentee, military and emergency ballots, along with some 4,500 affidavit ballots filled out at the polls by people whose names were missing from the rolls.

Affidavit ballots are generally from first-time voters. Given the huge turnout Barack Obama's candidacy sparked, Gennaro believes most of those affidavits are Democrats.

Last Wednesday, a recanvass of the machine tally reduced Padavan's lead to just 503 votes.

The next day, some two dozen Board of Elections staff members and representatives of the two candidates began counting the paper.

Gennaro's people say they have not challenged a single ballot the board's staff has ruled eligible. They say Padavan's people, on the other hand, have tried to disqualify an astonishing number of Hispanic and Asian surnamed voters.

"No one is trying to disenfranchise anyone," said Vincent Tabone, executive vice chairman of the Queens Republicans.

"They [the Democrats] are behind, so they want every vote to count, whether it's valid or not," Tabone said. "Our lawyers and volunteers are going through the affidavits to make sure they meet the requirements of the statutes."

And they are doing that with extraordinary diligence.

There were, for instance, the 22 ballots the Republicans challenged from people who gave as their address the huge Creedmor State Psychiatric Hospital in the district.

"There are several longterm Group Homes on that campus," Reich said. "They challenged everyone from there who voted."

Tabone acknowledged the blanket Creedmor challenge, but added, "They all put one address. If you're not permanently residing there, you can't vote."

Then there was the case of Margarita Pillot of Hillside Ave. She filed a temporary absentee ballot, stating she would be in Ohio on Election Day working for "a political campaign." The Republicans challenged her vote. They said she failed to list an employer or the dates she was out of town.

Then there were Paul and Roxanne Cheung, of 157th St. in Flushing. They also voted by affidavit, claiming they moved recently. The Republicans challenged their votes because they neglected to write down their previous address.

Reich says he has a dozen examples of similar minor omissions by white or Republican affidavit voters that Padavan's people did not challenge.

The two election commissioners overseeing the count - one Democrat, one Republican - have split along party lines on most of the disputed ballots.

Late Tuesday, with only about a quarter of the 8,300 paper ballots reviewed, the box containing challenged votes was up to 120.

With Democrats enjoying a slim lead in the Senate for the first time in decades, both sides consider the Padavan-Gennaro contest crucial. Look for this one to end up in court.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

Queens Democrats Support Senate Race Recount By: Samuel King - NY1

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As the 11th District State Senate race between Republican incumbent Frank Padavan and Democratic challenger James Gennaro remains too close to call, the Democrats took their fight to the streets Thursday.

Protesters say hundreds of ballots are being set aside by the Board of Elections, and that the majority belong to Latino and Asian voters.

The group accused Republicans of interfering with the process and they are demanding all votes be included in the recount.

"We're just simply not going to tolerate it here, in New York City, the center of democracy, here in Queens. So we're here to basically just say to them, we won't accept your tactics, stop doing this, and count our votes," said a protester.

A count released this week shows just 507 votes separating the two candidates, with Padavan holding the narrow edge.

CUNY Law School Student Government Resolution Calling for the Cancellation of Classes on Election Day Nov 4th...

I for one have been critical of the dismal performance of the youth of this country when it comes to making use of their constitutional right to vote...historically, this segment of the population is the least represented on Election Day...I am glad to see that the Student Government of CUNY Law School is taking a pro-active approach calling for a cancellation of classes so student can participate in various campaign and assist at polling sites...The following is a copy of their resolution...

Student Government - The City University of New York School of Law

WHEREAS the significance of the upcoming National Election on Tuesday, November 4, 2008, can hardly be overstated; and

WHEREAS the very slim majority held in the New York State Senate has much potential and relevance to New York residents in general, and

WHEREAS recent efforts of CUNY Law School students have resulted in the substantial mobilization of immigrant and minority voters in Senate District 15, by all accounts making this seat, and thus the control of New York State Senate, a close contest; and

WHEREAS close elections may create an incentive for some groups to discourage and otherwise subvert the vote of minority and immigrant voters to achieve a particular political outcome; and

WHEREAS voter intimidation and disenfranchisement has permeated previous elections in New York City including but not limited to these instances documented by the Asian American Legal Defense and Educated Fund:

• In New York, identification is not required to vote, but during the 2004 Presidential Elections, 23% of all Asian American voters surveyed were asked to show ID. Of those, 69% were not required to do so under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), which requires only a limited group of first-time voters to present ID.

• During the 2004 elections, 79% of South Asian American voters in New York and eight additional states were asked to show ID to vote, even though they were not required by law to do so.

• In a previous election in Queens an election coordinator, repeatedly referred to herself as a “U.S. citizen,” and directed other poll workers to “keep an eye” on South Asian voters, who she said, unlike her, were not “born here.”

• In a previous election a voter in Queens was asked to show her naturalization certificate to prove to the poll worker her eligibility to vote

• In a previous election South Asians in the Bronx attempting to cast their ballots were called “terrorists.”

WHEREAS poll monitoring should be a constant check on the democratic process, and a looming presence in democratic societies, in good times and in bad, and

WHEREAS CUNY Law School has a demonstrated a long standing commitment to serve the public, and has a well established presence with the community of Queens County, and

WHEREAS participation in U.S. elections has traditionally been far more burdensome to working Americans- and has no doubt interfered with the ability of many concerned citizens to contribute to the democratic process, in either voting, poll monitoring or other capacities- by virtue of Election Day being on a work day, and

WHEREAS Tuesdays are notoriously the busiest days for the majority of CUNY Law Students, and

WHEREAS CUNY Law Students are actively organizing and engaging in a host of election related activities beyond State Senate District 15, and

WHEREAS Election Day is an official New York State holiday;

ENACTED That the CUNY School of Law Student Government resolves to:

1. Call on the leadership of CUNY Law School to officially cancel all classes on Election Day, Tuesday, November 4, 2008,

2. Call on student organizations to endorse and take part in the effort to organize a massive poll monitor/observer turnout in Senate District 15 on Election Day,

3. Encourage students to use the day in furtherance of their civic duties, in particular, voting, organizing, and poll monitoring, preferably in Senate District 15,

4. Call on the leadership of CUNY Law School, and in particular, Dean Anderson, to publicize the decision to cancel classes, which would embolden the Senate District 15 poll monitoring effort by:

1. Increasing awareness of and participation in the effort by students and student organizations,

2. Creating a deterrent to any parties contemplating the use of illegal and illegitimate methods to discourage and prevent voting by eligible citizens, and

3. Making a bold statement and a good example of civic responsibility.

New Bills: Clean Elections by Courtney Gross - Gotham Gazette

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Clean Elections

After an overhaul of the city's campaign finance legislation last year, Councilmember Tony Avella is looking to take the city's law one step further by decreasing limits to receive public financing.

Under the bill (Intro 803), which Avella has titled the "Clean Elections Law," City Council candidates would have to raise just $2,500, consisting of small donations from $5 to $100, to qualify for $100,000 in public financing for the primary and an additional $100,000 for the general election. The bill would also limit contributions that could be matched with public dollars to less than $100.

The legislation reduces overall spending caps for every city office and lowers public financing requirements for all citywide offices. In a prepared statement, Avella said the restrictions would reduce the influence of special interest money, which flood campaigns with large, bundled donations.

"Under the current system the playing field isn't leveled," said Avella in a press release. "It's actually tilted."

Under the bill, which has garnered one other sponsor, Councilmember Joseph Addabbo, City Council candidates would also have to commit to two debates.

YouTube - UF Student Tasered taser John Kerry book (High Quality)

YouTube - UF Student Tasered taser John Kerry book (High Quality)

Is this still America..??