Velázquez calls for federal election monitors in next week’s primary
Following a WNYC report that last summer’s purge of voters by the Board of Elections (BOE) disproportionately affected Latino voters and voters in New York’s 7th District, U.S. Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY) has requested that the U.S. Department of Justice provide federal election monitors for the June 28 Congressional primary in New York City.
“Evidence uncovered today suggests that the potentially illegal voter purges that occurred during 2015 have been substantially concentrated in my district in the areas of Sunset Park, East New York and parts of Bushwick and Williamsburg. This suggests a targeted pattern of voter suppression and therefore an urgent need for federal oversight,” Velazquez wrote in a letter on Tuesday to Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.
The BOE kicked roughly 120,000 voters off the rolls last summer. Two board officials have been suspended while investigations are ongoing.