Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

It Took Me 5 Hours and a Court Order to Vote, Queens Man Says

By Katie Honan | April 19, 2016 5:18pm
 Ben Gershman said the Board of Elections told him he shared initials with another man in the Bronx.
Ben Gershman said the Board of Elections told him he shared initials with another man in the Bronx.
View Full Caption
Ben Gershman

KEW GARDENS — A voter who registered six months ago after moving to the city says he was tossed off the voter list because his name is similar to a man who lives in The Bronx, he said.

Ben Gershman, 27, registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles after moving to Ridgewood from Chicago six months ago, he said.

But when he checked last month, his name was nowhere on the voter list — because it matched someone else in another borough, the Board of Elections told him.

"They told me I shared the same initials as a voter in the Bronx, it confused both registrations and I had become de-registered," he told DNAinfo New York. 

Gershman spent hours Tuesday morning at the Board of Election office location on Queens Boulevard, driving there after realizing he wouldn't be able to vote, he said.

He finally voted after receiving a court order that allowed him to return to his Ridgewood poll site to cast a ballot.

"It's insane what I have to do, and I am registered," he said. "There's no accountability in the election process."

Comptroller Scott Stringer announced plans Tuesday to audit the Board of Elections over primary day issues. 

A spokeswoman with the Board of Elections did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Gershman's voting issues or any other problems at the polls today.