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Read the press release here.

New York Voting Process 'Very Close to Failing,' Advocate Says

By Ben Fractenberg | January 13, 2017 2:36pm
 Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner said the state was
Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner said the state was "very close to failing" in its election administration during a press conference outside City Hall Friday, Jan. 13, 2017.
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DNAinfo/Ben Fractenberg

CIVIC CENTER — A good government group gave New York state a D- for administering elections the day after the Department of Justice joined its federal lawsuit over the purging of 117,000 people from Brooklyn's voter rolls.

Common Cause New York said the state lags far behind others in areas like early voting, allocating polling place resources and using electronic poll books. The organization led the federal suit against voter suppression in the city.

“The fact that the Department of Justice yesterday announced that they are joining our lawsuit challenging the New York City Board of Elections practices, failing to comply with the national voter registration act simply underlines the sorry state of election administration here in New York,” Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner said during a press conference Friday outside City Hall.

Lerner said her group was also pushing for New York to join an interstate exchange of voter registration info to better track voters who move in and out of the state.

Common Cause New York Election Report by DNAinfoNewYork on Scribd

Gov. Andrew Cuomo has also called for modernizing the state’s voting system through early voting, same day voter registration and automatic registration through the DMV, according to his State of the State Address proposals.

"These proposals will modernize and open up our election system, making it easier for more voters to participate in the process and helping to make a more fair, more just and more representative New York for all,” Cuomo said in a Jan. 8 statement.

Lerner said her group decided to release the report ahead of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to honor his legacy of social justice.

"All of us recognize that the most fitting way New York could honor the abiding legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King would be to pass significant election reform," Lerner said, "to bring New York's elections into the 21st century and give all New Yorkers an opportunity to participate in elections that are fair, accessible and realizable."