With one of the most highly anticipated election days less than two months away, the Lewiston Town Board is putting pressure on county officials to make polling site changes — and if it doesn’t happen soon, the town could take legal action.
Supervisor Fred Newlin said Monday it appeared the Niagara County Board of Elections had breached state law by failing to seek input from the town board before shrinking the number of polling sites from eight to three.
According to Newlin, the law states: “Every Board of Elections shall, in consultation with each city, town or village, designate the polling places in each election district ...”
Deputy Town Attorney David Boniello pointed out the law did not present consultation as an optional procedure, but a required one.
Town board members unanimously approved Monday a resolution that the board of elections consult with the Town Board immediately and develop a change within the next 10 days. Otherwise, the town may look at “recourse in court.” Town Attorney Joseph Leone told the Gazette it is not yet clear what sort of legal action that would entail.
The contested new polling sites were put into action two weeks ago for the primaries, causing confusion among voters who had been voting at the same place for decades, town representatives said. Board member Michael Johnson said on primary day, an elderly woman arrived at town hall to vote after already stopping at the library and fire hall. Johnson said he explained to her the new voting site was Bond Lake but she didn’t know where it was.
Board members have criticized Bond Lake being chosen as a polling place because it is a 10-mile drive for some residents and is less handicapped accessible than town hall, which was removed as a polling place under the new plan. They also said it was not a safe area for heavy traffic and cited the fatal car accident along the escarpment Sunday night.
“In all my years on the board, no issue has raised the ire of voters like the new polling places,” said board member Ernest Palmer. “Everyone I talk to is really upset over this issue.”
Porter, which has roughly 2,000 people to Lewiston’s 20,000, has two polling places under the new plan while Lewiston has three, Newlin added. The Town of Wheatfield, which is smaller than Lewiston in both geography and population density, went from 10 polling places to five while Lockport went from nine polling places to five.
Palmer said he has been in discussions with members of the board of elections and was hopeful they would designate additional polling sites in Lewiston. Board member Sean Edwards said if not, the town should consider using its public transportation to assist voters in reaching the voting booths.
Local News
LEWISTON: Legal action considered in polling issue
New polling site plan is facing strong opposition from Lewiston residents and officials
- Local News
-
-
SLIDESHOW: Memorial Day Weekend 2012
Niagara Falls celebrates Memorial Day Weekend activities on Saturday with a parade on Pine Avenue, a memorial service and viewing of the new Veterans Memorial at Hyde Park, a concert series on Old Falls Street and free boat safety inspections by the Niagara County Sheriff Department Marine Division at the City of Niagara Falls Boat Docks on Buffalo Avenue.
-
Legislation protecting Falls air base units moves forward
The effort to protect jobs at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station got a boost from a committee in Washington, D.C. on Thursday.
-
Korean student robbed at gunpoint in Falls
Detectives are investigating the robbery of a 25-year-old woman Wednesday night in front of a motel in the 400 block of Main Street.
-
Davis will not seek Murphy removal
Lawyers for accused killer Matthew “Bones” Davis say their client will not ask to have Niagara County Court Judge Matthew J. Murphy III removed from his case.
-
Labor group laments economic development efforts
Economic development in New York state has become a joke to some in the area. And many of them are demanding changes to a process which spends approximately $3 billion a year.
-
Repaving work on Old Military Road rises to $790K
Sometimes a change is good. Sometimes a change is bad. For the Town of Lewiston, a change can be pretty costly.
-
Fifth-grader presents list of 400 names asking for new playground
A 10-year-old boy carrying a petition containing more than 400 signatures asked members of the Niagara Falls School Board on Thursday to consider building a new playground at his school.
-
Bomb threat leads to arrest at NT school
A North Tonawanda teen was arrested Thursday morning for sending a one-sentence bomb threat to the computer of a fellow high school student, resulting in a brief lockdown of the school.
- Sense of resignation on AES pact
-
Marching to the new veterans memorial
It's the unofficial beginning of summer.
Memorial Day may mean cookouts with hot dogs and hamburgers, a trip on the river in a boat or simply a day off from work Monday.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
