By Samuel Newhouse
and Ryan Thompson
Brooklyn Daily Eagle

ADAMS STREET — Tuesday, two justices of the Brooklyn Supreme Court will preside over the local elections.

Justice Ellen M. Spodek and Justice David I. Schmidt will cross Adams Street to the New York Board of Elections’ office in Downtown Brooklyn. There, in a conference room converted into a courtroom, the two judges will oversee and resolve the many legal issues that can arise on Election Day.

The judges have been assigned “to hear and determine all cases arising under the election law relating to the eligibility of voting.� One of the most frequent issues to arise is when Brooklynites trying to exercise their right of suffrage believe they have registered to vote but are not listed with the Board of Elections.

The judge will then listen to the voter present his or her case to the court, seeking a judicial order that allows that person to vote.

If the judge believes that the voter did, in fact, register, and it is simply due to an administrative error that the name does not appear on the list, then the judge will grant an order allowing that person to vote. If it does not appear as though that person properly registered to vote, then the judge will grant no such order.

Last year’s historic presidential election saw huge lines outside election centers all over Brooklyn, as justices Arthur Schack and Robert Miller heard the cases and pleas of people who wanted their chance to vote for (or against) President Barack Obama.

This year, the election between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and City Comptroller Bill Thompson has drawn plenty of media attention. Also on the ballot will be candidates for Comptroller, Public Advocate and City Council.

Five candidates for judgeships in Brooklyn are up for the vote. This year, candidates are running for judgeships in Brooklyn Civil Court, and no other courts. See sidebar.

One of those candidates, Acting Supreme Court Justice Rachel Adams, is running for reelection to New York City Civil Court. She was originally elected to Civil Court in 2000 for a 10-year term.

Also on the ballot are two state constitution amendment proposals. They relate to (1) the possible trading of several acres of land in St. Lawrence County for use by the National Grid electric and gas company, and (2) the potential for state prisoners to conduct work on behalf of nonprofit organizations while incarcerated.

Today at the Board of Elections, Justice Spodek is assigned to the morning, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Justice Schmidt is assigned to the evening shift, from 2 to 9 p.m.

Some Brooklynites will be voting on the ground floor of Brooklyn Supreme Court, Civil Term at 360 Adams St., but otherwise all state courts are closed.

The Board of Elections office in Brooklyn is located downtown at 345 Adams St., on the corner of Willoughby Street. The office is on the fourth floor and can be reached at (718)797-8800. You can also log on to the New York City Board of Elections’ web site for information about your polling location, at: www.vote.nyc.ny.us/index.html.

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