New Yorkers will decide a number of high-profile Democratic primaries on Thursday—if they can vote. On Twitter, the state’s residents have shared numerous accounts of voting irregularities, and some consistent themes have emerged. Culture critic Sean T. Collins collected a number of complaints in a lengthy thread: Some voters say they had to cast affidavit ballots after they arrived at their assigned polling location, cards in hand, only to be told by poll workers that they weren’t on the rolls.
.@NYCMayor says his son Dante brought his registration card to poll site and still had to use affidavit ballot. "He was holding the card from the board of elections that they sent to him — perfect evidence of his registration… and they told him he couldn’t vote on the machine."
— Yoav Gonen (@yoavgonen) September 13, 2018
Guess who wasn’t on the rolls this morning at the polling place I’ve voted for four years?
— Rebecca Traister (@rtraister) September 13, 2018
Ok, so in just my social circle I've now heard of *5* people who, like @rtraister, showed up at their normal polling place, only to be told they weren't on the rolls. What gives?
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) September 13, 2018
Spoke with the NY Board of Elections Brooklyn Office and they confirmed that MY NAME SHOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE BOOK and they said this kind of thing is happening all over Brooklyn today. They are getting lots of calls and people are even walking into their offices to report it. https://t.co/Ky43ZoVSVK
— Cathy de la Cruz (@SadDiego) September 13, 2018
Other voters said their party registrations had been mysteriously changed to third parties, like the Reform or Green parties, or the Republican Party. New York doesn’t have open primaries, so only registered Democrats can cast votes in today’s contests:
So after years of being registered as a dirty dem, I get to the voting place today and am informed I am now registered as a member of the Reform Party. And that I can’t vote. WEIRD.
— Michael Ballaban (@Ballaban) September 13, 2018
So I just checked my voter registration info on the New York voter look up site aaaaaaand somehow I’m now a registered REPUBLICAN? https://t.co/nFAxPCcgDP pic.twitter.com/L6HZxJ5Pij
— 𝚊𝚍𝚛𝚒𝚊𝚗𝚎. (@adrianeisoverit) September 11, 2018
I wasn’t able to vote today because my party had been mysteriously changed without my permission. I filled out an affidavit and hope my vote eventually counts but this is just a reminder that our voting systems are messed up no matter where you go.
— Kea Krause (@KeaMKrause) September 13, 2018
And in at least one public housing development, the New York City Public Housing Authority reportedly ordered residents inside from 8 am to 4 pm, which would significantly restricts the number of hours residents are free to vote:
On #NYPrimary day, #NYCHA asked its residents, mostly people or color, to remain home from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. for an apartment inspection. Is that suss to you or nah? #VoteNYC pic.twitter.com/sj0HW0ntXy
— Son of Baldwin (@SonofBaldwin) September 13, 2018
New York’s voting laws are notoriously restrictive. Voters who wanted to vote in today’s Democratic primary would have had to register as Democrats as early as October of last year. The state also doesn’t provide any financial support to counties on election day, as Susan Lerner of Common Cause NY told New York magazine on Wednesday.