Election Day 2025 postmortem

As I worked at a poll site in Bethpage on Tuesday, I was concerned by how derelict the Board of Elections can be and how critical the dedicated returning workers are — they know the annual process.

The only person who appeared to oversee this site was a self-appointed coordinator who seemed to lack basic voting knowledge — like Democrats and Republicans being required to work together to initial each paper ballot release.

Instead, she wanted one all-Republican-run district and one all Democratic, which we rejected, of course. She didn’t realize there were three, not two, districts to set up, so the third was not set up until we took it upon ourselves at the last minute.

This “coordinator” then divided 12 “inspectors” among three districts into groups of six, four and two, instead of the required four each. So, six people handled about 20 votes in 14 hours, four handled about 100, and two (I was one of them) handled 171 with no backup team to share the work.

Meanwhile, the Board of Elections was busy changing procedures so ours would not be the last county to report results. It sent out indecipherable messages that confused workers, setting off power struggles, shouting matches and hourslong argumentative calls to “help lines” without getting answers.

Why couldn’t this have been coordinated better before Election Day? A board member finally showed up around 9 p.m., too late to matter.

— Eliot Luber, Seaford

My wife and I volunteered on Election Day. As in years past, it was a long day — 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. It gave us a chance to meet many of our fellow residents — some of them friends and neighbors, others just strangers. These encounters were brief but engaging, some even funny, and just about all good-natured.

What a refreshing contrast to the rhetoric seen during the campaign, and it was just the thing needed to feel good once again about our system of government.

— Louis Verardo, Centerport

In endorsing former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo in the election for New York City mayor, President Donald Trump wrote on social media, “It is my obligation to run the Nation.” Article II of the Constitution lays out the powers of the president, and starts off by saying, “The executive Power shall be vested in a President,” which means the president has the power to enforce the laws passed by Congress. Article II also lists various powers or positions of the president, such as act as commander in chief, make treaties with the advice and consent of the Senate, and make appointments.

There’s not a word about any “obligation to run the Nation.”

— Carl Grasso, Huntington

As I filled out my ballot at my local precinct Tuesday, I was once again dismayed by the illusion of choice presented to voters in Nassau County. For all eight judicial positions, the same name appeared under the same party lines. Not one alternative. Not one contest.

This isn’t democracy — it’s choreography. These candidates weren’t chosen by the people; they were selected behind closed doors by party leaders across the political spectrum, ensuring their victories while denying voters a meaningful choice.

We deserve better. We deserve transparency, competition, and the opportunity to choose — not just to be rubber stamps. Is this what democracy really looks like in Nassau County today?

— Dan Greenburg, Merrick

Now that Election Day has come and gone, perhaps voters will be left alone for a few months. The number of times that we are asked to cast ballots over the course of a year is unreasonable.

In my community, several votes — besides those the past week — were conducted the past few months on a school district budget, a bond issue to finance library expansion, the library’s operating budget, a local park district budget, and a new tax to rescue a historical society from bankruptcy — all on separate dates. It’s no wonder that turnouts for these votes are so low.

Consider the historical society rescue vote. Fewer than 4% of eligible voters cast ballots, with fewer than 2.3% in favor. Based on 113 votes out of an eligible 4,917, the rescue was passed.

Voters are fatigued. Albany should look at these local situations and require that district elections and referendums be held simultaneously.

Scheduling votes on the same day would lead to more publicity regarding them — there is almost none now — and would increase public participation.

It’s ridiculous for fewer than 3% of eligible voters to set policy for one community.

— David Levy, Laurel