A state Supreme Court judge has dismissed a claim against the Suffolk County Board of Elections (BOE) that argued for an early voting location for Shelter Island.
Shelter Island Town Supervisor Gerry Siller filed an Article 78 proceeding asking the court to review the BOE’s decision to exclude the town from early voting locations.
The Hon. David T. Reilly, in a decision filed with the Suffolk County Court Clerk on Tuesday, found the BOE had not created a poll tax for Island voters, as Siller had argued.
The judge acknowledged that Island voters do have an additional burden if they choose to vote in person at any of the 12 locations available elsewhere in Suffolk County’s early voting but it “is modest and, with multiple voting options available, there is no disenfranchisement as a result of the determination by the Board of Elections.”
“Concomitantly, the Court can perceive no constitutional violations,” the judge ruled, noting that Islanders can vote by absentee ballot or participate at the local polling place on Election Day, November 3.
Siller responds
“Obviously, I’m very disappointed,” Siller told the Gazette by email Wednesday. “Neither the judge nor the BOE took into account the number of residents who took advantage of early voting last year.
“If I were a betting man, I would say we had the largest per capita response of any Town in Suffolk County,” he said. “I know that the people of Shelter Island will do whatever they have to to get out the vote, it just could have been a much easier process.”
Background
Siller’s suit, filed September 29, was against Nicholas LaLota and Anita Katz, Suffolk County BOE commissioners representing the Republican and Democratic Parties respectively. Article 78 proceedings are used to review a decision or action (or lack thereof) of a state official. They can be filed by individuals or by other governmental entities.
Early voting was rolled out to great fanfare last November, with polling places in each of the 10 towns open over nine days. For this year’s general election, BOE officials expanded the number of sites to 12 but provided no local early voting option for Shelter Island.
At the time he filed the claim, Siller said early voting was popular here; nearly 40 percent of voters who cast ballots in person last year on Shelter Island did so during early voting.
LaLota said in a letter to the Town Board that the bi-partisan decision to exclude Shelter Island was “motivated by a scarcity of resources, a desire to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of voters.” It was not, he said, an effort to “suppress the vote.”
Siller argued that the BOE’s failure to designate a local early voting location here amounts to “a poll tax on the residents of Shelter Island.” The BOE’s decision shifted what was an expense for a few of its workers to all the Island residents who want to participate. Each will now have to pay a roundtrip ferry fare or provide “their owns means of water transport” to take part in early voting.
‘Voting choices the same’
“In the case at bar, the Court can discern no disenfranchisement caused by the determination of the Board of Elections not to establish an early voting site on Shelter Island,” Reilly wrote in his decision. “At most Shelter Island residents’ voting rights have been minimally burdened; their voting choices are the same as all Suffolk County residents.”
“The Court recognizes that early voting comes with a transportation cost associated with Shelter Island’s unique location, but this is not a barrier created by the Board of Elections, nor should customary travel expenses for these residents be seen as constituting a poll tax.”
“While Shelter Island enjoys the status of a township in Suffolk County, that term belies the relatively small number of enrolled voters likely to be affected by the Board of Elections’ decision.”
In his email, Siller said he was considering an appeal. He noted, too, that Assemblyman Fred Thiele has said he is working on legislation to ensure the situation is corrected for future elections.
Early voting begins Saturday, October 24
Early voting in Suffolk County begins on Saturday, October 24. Voters can take part at any site. The closest to Shelter Island are the Southold Senior Center at 750 Pacific Street in Mattituck; Stony Brook University Southampton Campus at 70 Tuckahoe Road in Southampton; and Windmill Village at 219 Accabonac Road in East Hampton
Find the list of all 12 locations by following this link to the Suffolk County BOE website.
Early voting hours are as follows at all locations:
| Saturday, October 24 | 10 AM to 3 PM |
| Sunday, October 25 | 10 AM to 3 PM |
| Monday, October 26 | 7 AM to 3 PM |
| Tuesday, October 27 | noon to 8 PM |
| Wednesday, October 28 | 8 AM to 4 PM |
| Thursday, October 29 | 8 AM to 4 PM |
| Friday, October 30 | noon to 8 PM |
| Saturday, October 31 | 10 AM to 3 PM |
| Sunday, November 1 | 10 AM to 3 PM |
Voters can also drop off completed absentee ballots at these polling locations. Anyone entering these sites must wear a mask and maintain social distancing.
