Election boards are not above the law | Editorials - Hudson Valley 360
If Gov. Kathy Hochul wants to continue to highlight transparency and more ethical governing as pillars of her administration, she ought to read the report released Tuesday by the New York Coalition for Open Government showing that a majority of New York county boards of elections fail to comply with statutes maintaining transparency.
The coalition chose 19 of the larger counties across the state’s 10 regions to evaluate their boards of elections’ compliance with the state’s Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws, determining the efficacy and speed of response and provided resources. Compliance with either law by municipal election boards is minimal to nonexistent, the coalition found.
The coalition submitted four questions by email and telephone seeking information about when election commissioners meet, if the public is notified about the meetings, if agendas and documents are posted publicly online and if minutes are kept and published on the agency’s website. Nearly two-thirds of the boards contacted did not respond. Seventy-three percent of the selected boards of election did not acknowledge Freedom of Information Law requests within five business days as required by statute.
State Election Law requires county election boards to meet at least once annually to determine which commissioner will serve as president and which as secretary.
No entity exists in New York to enforce compliance with the Freedom of Information or Open Meetings laws. Without such an agency, municipalities and state agencies that violate either law will not face consequences.
This terrible showing by the largest election boards across the state is compelling legislative leaders to review potential reforms to enforce the Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws.
State leaders should not have to waste time and energy embarrassing departments into complying with the law. Time and again, report after report of noncompliance with the law emerges. If the governor is serious about delivering transparency back to state government, this is a good place to follow through in earnest. It’s time to create an entity with enforcement powers.
source: https://www.hudsonvalley360.com/opinion/editorials/election-boards-are-not-above-the-law/article_2f2d80a2-f6f2-5f01-96da-d2e992c9639a.html
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