The city Board of Elections is scrambling to fix a mistake that could have sent some Bay Ridge residents across the borough on Election Day.
In mid-October, those voters – who live in the new 64th A.D. – received a notification informing them that because their polling place, Our Saviour’s Church, was not accessible to physically disabled voters, they could make arrangements to go to an alternate poll site that is accessible if necessary.
However, the notification misidentified the poll location as Our Savior’s Church, at 2781 Pitkin Avenue, in East New York, rather than Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at 80th Street and Fourth Avenue, in Bay Ridge.
Valerie Vazquez, a spokesperson for the Board of Elections, said that the correspondence had been sent on October 12 and that the board had been notified of the mistake shortly after by voters.
“We quickly remedied it,” she said, adding that a correction notice had been sent to affected voters, with the right address, Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church at 414 80th Street, along with an apology.
“The BOE is under a lot of scrutiny and mistakes happen,” said Kevin Peter Carroll, Democratic district leader. “There are going to be errors, but people should know their correct poll location.”
The error comes on the heels of reports that hundreds of poll site notification cards were found stuffed in a USPS locker instead of delivered to residents. The City Council introduced new legislation aimed at making the November voting process run smoothly, with email notifications, voter registration forms at schools, and an expanded City Voters Guide.
