“This is a sad day for our democracy. The court has not only missed an opportunity to right a great historic injustice, it has shut the courthouse door in the face of hundreds of thousands of disenfranchised citizens.”
“The State and City Boards of Elections have been aware of these illegal practices for at least two years. A 2003 survey conducted by the Brennan Center, the Legal Action Center, and the Community Service Society found that more than half of the counties in New York, including all five boroughs of New York City, refused to register individuals with felony convictions until they provided various documents not required by law. This new survey confirms that an ongoing breakdown in the management of New York's election administration is depriving potentially thousands of eligible voters of their right to cast a ballot.”
