NY's Falling Voter Participation

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

NY's Falling Voter Participation

NY's Falling Voter Participation

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Ballot Control by Party Leaders

BY GARY TILZER

Toxic Democracy

The City's election results from a half-century ago look like misprints. 3.46 million out of the City's 3.53 million registered voters, a staggering 98%, cast ballots in the 1952 Presidential election. One year later, 93% of registered New Yorkers voted in the Mayoral election. Today, the bottom has fallen out for the City's electorate. Only 27% of the City's registered voters cast their ballots in the last mayoral election in 2005. 39% of registered voters took part in the Mayoral election of 1997. Voter turnout was less than 20% for City Council elections in 1999.

Party Leaders Only Card: Ballot Access – cannot deliver any vote

Last week True News exposed how GOP party leaders have used Tammany Hall ballot control to fight for patronage and power with mayors and governors over the years. According to news reports this year Bloomberg is going after the endorsement of the Republican, Independent and Working Families lines. By examining the vote and registration numbers of these three parties it is clear that it is not the vote on the line the mayor seeks but the line itself. In the 2006 general election the Republican line only got 11% in the city. The Independent line got 2.7%. The Working Families line got 5.5%. The Conservative line only got 1.5%. The registration figures of these parties in the city are even smaller. The Republicans have 474,579 registered voters out of 4,614,932 registered voters in the city or 10.3%. The Independent Party has 92,602 - .02%; Conservative Party 19108 - .004%; Working Families Party 11,980 - .002%.

Party Leaders Have Become Dictators

Many say today's political system is more undemocratic and corrupt than Tammany Hall. When Tammany Hall ruled NY the pols rewarded the party leaders for delivering the vote to them. Parties function from the bottom up. To deliver the vote Tammany leaders needed the pols to deliver services to the voters. Today the party works from the top down. Controlling ballot access and delivering jobs and power to their friends. The public is cut out. The public need for services is no longer connected to the party delivering those services. It is easy to see why voter turnout is so low in recent times. Those in power today have built a system on low turnout elections where incumbents are protected. The elected officials have taken over the City's parties to make sure that the sole mission is to reelect them to office.

New York's Sinking Vote 1. 337,110 more New Yorkers voted in 2004 than 2008. 2. New York Ranked 42 of 50 in Voting Age Turnout 50.7% 2008. 3. In 1944 NY had 6,291,885 votes for president and 47 Electoral votes. 4. In 1944 Florida had 482,592 votes for president and 8 Electoral votes. 5. In 2008 Florida had 1,204,479 more votes for president than NY. 6. In 1944 New York had 3,423,467 more votes than California. 7. In 2008 California had 6,291,885 more votes than NY. 8. In 1944 New York cast 13.1% of the Nation's vote. 9. In 2008 New York cast 5.5% of the Nation's vote.