Opponents contend and the judge decided that the “One Man One Vote Rule”
does not apply because the New York Board of Elections is appointed, not
elected, citing Sailors v. Board of Educ. of Kent County, 387 U.S. 105
(1967)
However, that citation is wholly inappropriate for a different reason. In
Sailors v. Board of Education, the voters elected the local school boards.
Each board sends a delegate to a biennial meeting, and those delegates
elect a county board of five members, who need not be members of the local
boards, who then appoint administrators.
This is obviously a valid and proper way. In addition the county boards
just decide administrative questions such as whether to buy new chairs for
the school.
The New York Board of Elections is an entirely different matter. What
happens is every two years in odd numbered years a primary election for
county boards for the Republican and Democratic Parties is held. As there
are several thousand seats available for both the Republican and Democratic
Parties there are never enough candidates to fill all the seats and
everybody who runs gets elected. Then a convention is held and a chairman
in elected for a two year term. There are also vice-chairmen elected. Each
chairman then appoints a Commissioner of Elections. Thus, there are two
commissioners for each county, one Republican Commissioner and one
Democratic Commissioner. None of the other parties such as the Green or the
Working Families parties have any say-so in the appointment of
commissioners nor do the independent or blank voters have any role in the
appointment of commissioners.
The two commissioners, the one Republican and the one Democratic
Commissioner decide which candidates get on the ballot.
If the Chairman or the Commissioner is arrested by the FBI and goes to
jail, as has often happened in the last few years, his spot is simply taken
by the next vice-chairman who appoints the next commissioner.
In New York City there are five counties. Thus, the New York City Board of
Elections consists of ten commissioners, one Republican and one Democrat,
for each of the five counties, Bronx, Kings, Queens, Manhattan and Staten
Island.
Lately there has been turmoil in the Board of Elections because of the
arrests and criminal prosecutions of not only commissioners and chairmen
but of governors and other high officials of New York State and City who
have been involved in this. Here is a list in alphabetical order as
provided by the New York Times. See “The Many Faces of New York’s Political
Scandals” by SUSANNE CRAIG, WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and THOMAS KAPLAN UPDATED
May 3, 2016. This list does not even include Alan G. Hevesi, the New York
City and Controller who served time in prison, or Rudy Giuliani who was
implicated in the “Sex on the City Scandal”.
“In the past decade, more than 30 current or former state
officeholders in New York have been convicted of crimes, sanctioned or
otherwise accused of wrongdoing. Here are some of them.
William F. Boyland Jr.
Assemblyman, Brooklyn
Democrat
Convicted on bribery charges, including requesting $250,000 to pay his
legal fees in a separate corruption case, and other federal crimes.
Nelson L. Castro
Assemblyman, the Bronx
Democrat
Pleaded guilty to perjury charges and to making false statements to
law enforcement; secretly made recordings for the authorities.
Mike Cole
Assemblyman, Erie County
Republican
Censured after sleeping at the home of a female intern after a night
of heavy drinking.
Pedro Espada Jr.
Senator, the Bronx
Democrat
Convicted of siphoning hundreds of thousands of dollars from his
nonprofit health care network.
Dennis H. Gabryszak
Assemblyman, Erie County
Democrat
Resigned after being accused of sexually harassing members of his staff.
Efraín González Jr.
Senator, the Bronx
Democrat
Pleaded guilty to using hundreds of thousands of dollars from
nonprofit groups to pay for personal expenses.
Diane M. Gordon
Assemblywoman, Brooklyn
Democrat
Convicted of offering to help a developer acquire a parcel of
city-owned land in exchange for building her a house in a gated
community.
Alan G. Hevesi
State Comptroller
Democrat
Pleaded guilty to using state workers to chauffeur his wife; later
pleaded guilty for his role in a sprawling corruption scandal
involving the state pension fund.
Sam Hoyt
Assemblyman, Buffalo
Democrat
Banned from having interns in his office after having an affair with an intern.
Shirley L. Huntley
Senator, Queens
Democrat
Pleaded guilty in federal court to stealing state grants and in State
Supreme Court to falsifying evidence; secretly made recordings for
federal authorities.
Micah Z. Kellner
Assemblyman, Manhattan
Democrat
Sanctioned for sexually harassing members of his staff.
Carl Kruger
Senator, Brooklyn
Democrat
Pleaded guilty to corruption charges in a widespread bribery conspiracy case.
Vincent L. Leibell III
Senator, Putnam County
Republican
Pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and tax charges for telling a
witness in an investigation against him to lie to the authorities.
Thomas W. Libous
Senator, Binghamton
Republican
Convicted of lying to F.B.I. agents who were investigating whether he
used his office to help get a job for his son.
Vito J. Lopez
Assemblyman, Brooklyn
Democrat
Fined $330,000 by the Legislative Ethics Commission for sexually
harassing members of his staff.
Brian M. McLaughlin
Assemblyman, Queens
Democrat
Pleaded guilty to racketeering charges; in various criminal schemes,
took money from taxpayers, labor organizations, contractors and even a
Little League program.
Hiram Monserrate
Senator, Queens
Democrat
Expelled from the Senate after being convicted of misdemeanor assault;
later pleaded guilty to mail fraud charges for using city money to
finance a failed political campaign.
Clarence Norman Jr.
Assemblyman, Brooklyn
Democrat
Convicted of extorting money from judicial candidates, among other crimes.
Kevin S. Parker
Senator, Brooklyn
Democrat
Convicted of two counts of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor, for
damaging a camera belonging to a photographer for The New York Post.
David A. Paterson
Governor
Democrat
Fined $62,125 for soliciting and accepting free Yankees tickets, and
then lying under oath to cover up his actions.
Gabriela Rosa
Assemblywoman, Manhattan
Democrat
Entered into a sham marriage for immigration purposes; pleaded guilty
to two counts of making false statements, to federal immigration
officials and in a bankruptcy proceeding.
John L. Sampson
Senator, Brooklyn
Democrat
Convicted of trying to thwart a federal investigation and making false
statements.
Anthony S. Seminerio
Assemblyman, Queens
Democrat
Died in prison after pleading guilty to soliciting payments in return
for political favors.
Sheldon Silver
Assembly Speaker
Democrat
Convicted of taking in nearly $4 million in exchange for using his
position to help benefit a researcher and two real estate developers.
Dean G. Skelos
Senator, Long Island
Republican
Convicted of bribery, extortion and conspiracy for using his position
as majority leader to pressure companies into hiring his son.
Ada L. Smith
Senator, Queens
Democrat
Convicted of throwing a cup of coffee in the face of an aide.
Malcolm A. Smith
Senator, Queens
Democrat
Convicted of federal corruption charges including bribery, wire fraud
and extortion.
Nicholas A. Spano
Senator, Westchester County
Republican
Pleaded guilty to obstructing the I.R.S., admitting he filed false tax
returns and concealed payments from a politically connected insurance
brokerage.
Eliot Spitzer
Governor
Democrat
Resigned after patronizing prostitutes.
Eric A. Stevenson
Assemblyman, the Bronx
Democrat
Convicted of accepting more than $20,000 in bribes from developers of
adult day care centers.
The District Judge in her decision stated that the commissioners are
appointed by the City Council. This is simply not true. The City Council
has nothing to do with the appointment of Commissioners of Elections. Only
the Party Bosses make these appointments.