Politics on the Hudson

Two out of every five military absentee ballots in New York State are not counted, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-NY, said today.

It takes up to 82 days for troops stationed overseas to go through the process of voting absentee in New York State – the ballot spends three days with the voter, 72 days in transit, and 7 days being processed by the state Board of Elections, Schumer said.

New York is one of only three states to require the entire absentee voting process to take place by mail. New York is also one of 16 states labeled by the Pew Center on the States as a “No Time to Vote” state, meaning New York does not mail absentee ballots in time for military personnel to vote before the deadline.

The data below, obtained from the state Board of Elections, shows the number of local military absentee voters and their lost votes in 2008.

Hudson Valley military voters requested 3,539 absentee ballots in 2008, but only 2,125 were returned and counted. The other 1,414 ballots or 40 percent were “lost.”

In Westchester County 1,083 military ballots were sent out but only 534 were received and counted in 2008.

In Putnam County 191 military ballots went out but only 96 were received and counted in 2008.

Rockland did better with 295 military ballots sent out and 226 counted in 2008.

The number of young voters nationwide rose for the third time in as many presidential election cycles, according to a new analysis by the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

Voters under 30 who voted in 2008 increased by about 11 percent, while the number of older voters increased by 3 percent, according to newly released U.S. Census Bureau turnout data.

Between 2004 and 2008, turnout rates among young voters also rose, while those of older age groups remained steady or decreased.

Factors from increased attention paid to young voters by candidates, to the proliferation of technology in the lives of young voters, to a rise in civic engagement among young people, contributed to this surge, said Sujatha Jahagirdar, program director for the Student PIRGs’ New Voters Project.

Gov. David Paterson tops the list of honorees at tomorrow’s Yonkers Human Rights Commission awards ceremony. The event is called “A Celebration of Disability in the Workplace,” and Paterson, who is legally blind is to be honored with the organization’s 2008 Humanitarian Award. State Human Rights Commissioner Galen Kirkland is expected to accept the award for the governor. Others receiving awards include Richard F. Sweeney, the Community Service Award; Kathleen Joyce, the Community Service Award, and Barbara J. Shealy, the Chairperson’s Service Award. The event is scheduled to be held at the Yonkers Riverfront Library at Larkin Plaza from 5 to 7p.m.

   U.S. senators who represent the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are sending an SOS to the lame-duck Bush administration to help workers in the New York City metropolitan region who have lost their jobs due to the worsening economy.

   Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y, Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Christopher Dodd, D-Conn, and Joseph Lieberman, Ind.-Conn., are asking for $48 million for the three states to provide a “coordinated response to aid the hundreds fo thousands of workers already bearing the brunt of the deepening recession.” The wrote a letter to Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

   Unemployment in the tri-state region increased 1.3 percent between April and September of this year, which means 140,000 jobs were lost, according to the lawmakers. Analysts estimate the region could lose another 160,000 private-sector jobs by the end of this year.

   “It is imperative that our states have the resources to cop with this rising wave of unemployment and to help transition these individuals to new jobs,” the Senators wrote. “This grant will provide our states with the crucial resources they need to support the extraordinary number of workers in our region left jobless and at risk in the midst of this recession.”

Yes, the wine and cheese will be there, but Chuck Lesnick’s campaign fundraiser set for Friday looks to be a political science class – with a definite Democratic perspective.

The Yonkers City Council President has lined up Andrew J. Zambelli, a chief of staff for Gov. Mario Cuomo and a market research consultant specializing in polling; Shelley Meyer, senior council to the state Senate Minority, soon to be Senate Majority, and a past Democratic candidate for the 93rd Assembly District; and David Pollack, the New York State director for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign.

The event is set for 5 to 7 p.m. in the common room of 1 Alexanders St., on the Yonkers waterfront. Donations can be made out to Chuck Lesnick for City Council President. Additional information is available from Kim DiTomasso at 917-991-8276 or kditto31@yahoo.com.

Here’s the take from Gannett’s own Chuck Raasch on the winners and losers of election night 2008:

•  Howard Dean. Big winner. His 50-state strategy, denigrated by old-line Democrats like James Carville, was vindicated. Dean buttressed Democratic staff in all 50 states and refocused on the broader map, paving the way for Obama to compete and win in longtime Republican bastions like Indiana and Virginia.

• Young voters. Winners and losers. People under age 30 were an important part of Obama’s winning coalition. But despite all the pre-election hype, they did not vote in significantly higher percentages this time. And they entered a political system that will leave their generation $10 trillion in debt, and counting.

• Karl Rove. Loser. Four years ago, the Republicans’ best strategist was talking about building a lasting GOP governing majority following President Bush’s re-election. Today, Bush is compared with Herbert Hoover, and the Republicans are at pre-Ronald Reagan strength in Congress and in state governorships.

• Civil rights movement. Big winner. Jesse Jackson’s tears and those of ordinary Americans, black and white, said it all.

• Republican congressional leadership. Loser. When your leader in the Senate survives a close re-election and will have fewer senators to lead and when there is open revolt against your leaders in the House, trouble is ahead in your Grand Old Party.

• Republican governors. Winners. Even though their numbers dwindled Tuesday, any GOP comeback probably will have to come from the governors. Southerners Bobby Jindal of Louisiana, Mark Sanford of South Carolina, Haley Barbour of Mississippi and Charlie Crist of Florida, as well as others like Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, either have national ambitions or stature.

• Sarah Palin. Winner and loser. A majority of voters told exit pollsters she wasn’t ready to be president if the need arrived. But the Democrats and the entertainment elite attacked the Alaska governor, the more popular she became among loyal Republicans. Four more years of experience, coupled with her national stature, is a recipe for a makeover.

• Viral media. Big winner. Obama used the power of social networking and technological advances, like YouTube, to advance Democrats’ use of this new medium. This medium is to Democrats what talk radio was to Republicans in the 1980s and 1990s. Obama already has signaled he’ll use social networks and cell phone technology to put pressure on Congress and to marshal support for his agena. Republicans will need to catch up — fast — or find the next medium to compete. Is it the Star Trek-esque hologram that CNN unveiled Tuesday night?

• Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live, and the Democratic-Hollywood entertainment complex. Winners and losers. Fey brilliantly portrayed Palin, and SNL’s political satire revived sagging ratings. Hollywood liberals got their president. Bad news: They won’t have Palin and McCain to kick around any more. And independent studies showed the late-night comics and talk show folks didn’t find Obama particularly funny.

• Abortion rights supporters. Winners. For the second time, South Dakota voters struck down a restrictive abortion referendum, and Obama could have several appointments to the Supreme Court that likely would guarantee the court would not reverse the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision for a generation.

Charlotte Chieffa stopped outside the polling place in Yonkers’ Homefield neighborhood to talk about her vote for McCain. “We’re Republicans and he’s a good man. He’s experienced,” she said. “And we don’t like socialism. I fled communism in China when I was a 10-years-old. The average American doesn’t know the meaning of socialism. It opens the door for communism.”Melanio Aquino had a completely different take on where Barack Obama falls on the political spectrum. Aquino had just left the polling place having voted for Obama. “It’s not true. He’s not a socialist, Aquino said. “They are trying to distract people from other issues.”

Taylor Walls accompanied her father Julius inside a voting booth in Yonkers and was still excited about having watched him participate in the democratic process. The first thing Taylor, who just turned 12, noticed was the rows of levers next to each name. The next thing she noticed: ”There are so many parties. When I was young, I thought there were only two parties, Democratic and Republican parties, because that’s all I heard about on TV.”Aside from the big race at the top of the ballot, her father, Julius Walls, had a personal reason to think Election Day was cool. Walls chairs the Yonkers Charter Revision Commission and he got to see the work of the Commission – two propositions – on the ballot.     

Some 50 voters were waiting when poll watchers opened the Runyon Heights Community House at 6 a.m., election inspector Felicia Ash said.  “When I opened the doors I could not believe how many people were standing there,” Ash said.

About a mile north, at the Homefield House polling place, the story was similar, even if lines were a little shorter. Election inspector Wanda Taylor said about 20 poeple had lined by the time the polls opened at 6 a.m.

About 90 minutes later 188 people had voted in the Runyon Heights election district that Ash was supervising, which is one of several housed at the community house. By 11:45 a.m. the figure at that one distruct had climbed to 330, more than the district sometimes sees by the end of Election Day other years, Ash said.

Kate Kelly of Larchmont, author of “Election Day: An American Holiday, An American History” (Facts on File) and political blogger for The Huffington Post, wrote a quiz for The Journal News and LoHud.com about elections. Check it out and test your knowledge here.