Suppose the two political parties with the most registered voters were each given $7.5 million to dole out in salaries to their members to oversee elections. And all other parties, as well as unaffiliated voters, received none.
And those same two parties with the most registered voters received 100 percent of the authority to oversee elections. And all other parties, as well as unaffiliated voters, received none.
Even though the two political parties represented less than 72 percent of the voters in your county.
Welcome to Nassau County.
And welcome to New York state, where the same system of two-party control works in every county and the state as well. Only worse.
Republicans and Democrats have established a system in which only Republicans and Democrats have authority over state and county elections and who gets hired to run them.
In other words, we’ve entrusted the oversight of our elections to the only agency in the state intentionally and legally set up to be a patronage organization.
In Nassau County, more than $15 million of the county election board’s more than $19 million budget goes to salaries.
And what does that $15 million buy you?
As Blank Slate Media reporter Rebecca Klar reported last week, a dumping ground for failed elected officials, relatives of politicians of both parties and, in at least one case, an elected official.
Best qualified for a position? Don’t be silly.
Anthony Santino, for instance, did such a bad job that he became the first Republican in more than 100 years to lose an election for Hempstead town supervisor.
After making sweetheart deals to party faithful in Hempstead, he resigned two days before the end of his term – to take a position as administrative assistant at the Board of Elections. At a salary of $160,000 a year.
Democrat Robert Troiano, a former senior policy adviser to North Hempstead Town Supervisor Judi Bosworth and county legislator, was Nassau County Executive Laura Curran’s pick for traffic and parking violations commissioner.
Until it was discovered that he had racked up more than $80,000 in federal income tax liens. His punishment? He was appointed to a position at the Board of Elections. At a salary of $140,000 a year.
Former North Hempstead Democratic Party Chairman Gerard Terry, currently serving time for state tax fraud, also had a job at the county agency before stepping down when he faced charges. It was one of six politically appointed, taxpayer-funded jobs Terry once simultaneously held.
Lawrence Levy, executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra, said dividing control of election boards between Republicans and Democrats might have made sense at one point when both parties represented a much higher percentage of registered voters.
“Now that [indepedendents] have grown exponentially in the days since this system was created, the question should be raised whether the interest of these voters is represented by a system that gives overwhelming influence to the two major parties,” Levy said.
George Washington, it should be noted, was not a member of a political party and he was followed by John Adams, a Federalist, and Thomas Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican.
But we’re sure that nobody would want any of them to be president in 2018.
And as far as state politics is concerned, just ask Gov. Elliot Spitzer, state Comptroller Alan Hevesi, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silverman the many benefits of two-party control.
Or, maybe, not. Within a few years of each other, they all resigned in disgrace.
The state election board’s activities have made Nassau County’s waste of taxpayer money on undeserving officials look relatively harmless.
The four-member state Board of Elections is made up of two Democrats and two Republicans who are appointed by the governor at the recommendation of the two major state party chairmen and Assembly and Senate leaders. For qualifications, see above.
Nearly 20 years ago, the board quietly created a gigantic loophole in the state’s campaign finance laws when it decided that limited liability companies were no different from people.
New York law actually treats corporate donations reasonably, limiting them to $5,000 a year. But individuals could contribute $60,800 a year to any statewide candidate. And the Board of Elections decided that limited liability companies were just like people, only richer.
The result was to allow companies to contribute a virtually unlimited amount of money to candidates each year since forming an LLC takes less time than doing your laundry.
Not content with the damage done 20 years ago, the state election board recently passed rules limiting the powers of an independent chief enforcement counsel charged with going after campaign finance improprieties.
Better to protect their friends from investigations into campaign finance violations.
The current system of overseeing county and state elections is, in short, a mess.
Third parties are disadvantaged and taxpayers are forced to pick up the tab for Republicans and Democrats buying the allegiance of party faithful.
It is time to eliminate the current system and put paid professionals outside the party system in charge.
