Board of Rejections

Dear Editor,
Regarding your July 8th opinion piece, “The embarrassing Board of Elections,”
the vote-counting error shows why it should be called the Board of Rejections.
I fought a seven-year battle with the BOE to reopen the P.S. 164 polling site in Kew Gardens Hills for the 2019 Queens D.A. primary election. It has become even more dysfunctional since then.
Under state law, the BOE’s full-time staffers are chosen by Republican and Democrat party leaders in each of state’s 62 counties. That makes it a patronage pit for
political hacks instead of a professional outfit.
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic of Queens and State Senator Liz Krueger of Manhattan proposed bills to reform the BOE and rid it of all political influence. That may require amending the state constitution and will likely face fierce resistance from bosses of both parties.
All legislators in Albany must back the reform measures. Those who refuse do not
deserve our votes when they face re-election in 2022.
Sincerely,
Richard Reif
Kew Gardens Hills