A Message from President Botstein about Bard’s Voter Suppression Lawsuit and Continuing Efforts to Move Polling Location to Campus
To the Bard Community,
As one of the plaintiffs in the College’s recent lawsuit seeking to move the District 5 voting site to a location safer and more accessible to all voters—to the Bard campus—I write today to inform the community that our case was not successful. The judge ruled against us, not on the merits of our core argument, but on the contention made by the Board of Elections that there is not enough time to alert voters properly before the November 3 election. Within 24 hours of the ruling, however, the BOE contradicted its own claim, on which their legal challenge to us was based, by moving two other polling sites in Red Hook.
Our contention is that the current voting site is antiquated, inaccessible, and too small, particularly during the time of COVID-19. We are grateful to St. John’s for the many years it provided the site for voting and agree with church leaders that it is unsafe for the upcoming elections. But the community has outgrown the facility. Furthermore, the BOE has consistently violated the voting rights of Bard students. Although we have lost this round, we have appealed and will fight the decision. If we are not successful this year, we will continue to challenge the decision until we are successful.
I believe the court’s ruling and the BOE actions are based on partisan politics. Their public posture has nothing to do with providing equitable access to voting. It is truly disheartening to see those who control the local voting process disparage the motivation of first-time and young voters. They seek to discourage the next generation of citizens from participating in the essential democratic process of voting. Instead, the BOE, the courts, and all of us should engage and encourage all members of our community by making it safe and convenient for every registered voter, including the young and the elderly, to cast a ballot.
I will update the community further when our appeal is heard and the case moves forward.
Thank you.
Leon Botstein
Post Date: 10-20-2020
As one of the plaintiffs in the College’s recent lawsuit seeking to move the District 5 voting site to a location safer and more accessible to all voters—to the Bard campus—I write today to inform the community that our case was not successful. The judge ruled against us, not on the merits of our core argument, but on the contention made by the Board of Elections that there is not enough time to alert voters properly before the November 3 election. Within 24 hours of the ruling, however, the BOE contradicted its own claim, on which their legal challenge to us was based, by moving two other polling sites in Red Hook.
Our contention is that the current voting site is antiquated, inaccessible, and too small, particularly during the time of COVID-19. We are grateful to St. John’s for the many years it provided the site for voting and agree with church leaders that it is unsafe for the upcoming elections. But the community has outgrown the facility. Furthermore, the BOE has consistently violated the voting rights of Bard students. Although we have lost this round, we have appealed and will fight the decision. If we are not successful this year, we will continue to challenge the decision until we are successful.
I believe the court’s ruling and the BOE actions are based on partisan politics. Their public posture has nothing to do with providing equitable access to voting. It is truly disheartening to see those who control the local voting process disparage the motivation of first-time and young voters. They seek to discourage the next generation of citizens from participating in the essential democratic process of voting. Instead, the BOE, the courts, and all of us should engage and encourage all members of our community by making it safe and convenient for every registered voter, including the young and the elderly, to cast a ballot.
I will update the community further when our appeal is heard and the case moves forward.
Thank you.
Leon Botstein
Post Date: 10-20-2020