Nassau County officials hit out at the New York State Board of Elections on Thursday for setting voter registration program dates that conflict with Jewish days of observance.
Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said that New York State set a state program date for Oct. 10, and directed Nassau to host local programs on one of two Saturdays – Sept. 28 or Oct. 5.
“These dates would conflict with observant Jews who would like to register and vote because they do not do any work on Saturdays, and that’s also true of Seventh Day Adventists,” Blakeman said. “Unfortunately, the Saturday dates are pursuant to state legislation and cannot be changed without legislative action. But the state board of elections can change the Thursday date, which is in their discretion to a Sunday.”
That Thursday date is also problematic for Jewish voters, according to Nassau County Legislator Howard Kopel (R-Lawrence), presiding officer of the Legislature.
“Not only is that Thursday date, a workday, it is also as it happens the day after Rosh Hashanah,” Kopel said. “It is a fast day. Some people don’t feel well – they’re fasting, they can’t get out. They’re not up to it. And the other only other day provided was Saturday. It just doesn’t work.”
Blakeman indicated he would contact New York State Attorney General Letitia James about changing the Oct. 10 date.
“This is being done under the umbrella of being inclusive and creating diversity and opportunity to vote, which we support,” Blakeman said. “I am going to be communicating with Attorney General Letitia James, who agrees with me that diversity and inclusion are very important in our elections. And we are asking her to intervene with the state Board of Elections and direct them to change their date from a Thursday to a Sunday.”
Nassau County Legislator Mazi Melesa Pilip (R-Great Neck), a former soldier in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), emphasized the importance of Saturdays – Shabbat – for observant Jews.
“Shabbat is a day for many Jewish people, they are resting, they are going to synagogues,” Pilip said. “They don’t work, they don’t use phones, or they don’t do anything that typically they do on a regular day. So I really hope and expecting for people to be sensitive and to allow them to take apart and to participate in the election process.”
The New York State Board of Elections said that per election law, Saturdays cannot be avoided.
“New York State Election Law requires that boards of elections hold two local registration days in presidential election years,” Kathleen McGrath, director of public information for the Board of Elections, told the Press. “The law stipulates that the window for the two-day operation must be held between the sixth and fourth Saturdays before the General Election (9/28 to 10/12 this year), and that one of these local registration days must be held on a Saturday. Furthermore, E.L. § 5-202 specifically lists religious holidays and observances on which these days must not occur – ‘Yom Kippur, Rosh Hashana, Simchas Torah, Shmini Atzereth, or Succoth.’ Therefore, the law was written with respect for religious obligations in mind. And this is not new law; it was last amended in 1991.
“The last day must be uniform across the state and fall within 30 days of the General Election. The State Board of Elections chose Thursday, October 10, 2024, to comply with this requirement. This was the last possible day since Yom Kippur falls on the final two calendar days of the two-week window, Oct. 11 and Oct. 12, and this would then give the local County Boards maximum flexibility in choosing their other day. With a Thursday chosen, the local County Boards of Elections were then left to pick which Saturday they would use for the other half of the two-day event. Again, per Election Law, avoiding Saturday entirely is not an option.”
