See Voter Suppression Right Here

You might think from the news media that voter suppression - e.g. not allowing university students to vote where they attend college, or closing down polling places close to black neighborhoods - is all happening at the state legislature level. In fact, it's possible to see it going on right in our back yard!

The Taconic Hills School District (THSD) school board and budget elections take place on May 16. In 2019, the school board, concerned about the increasing number of second homeowners registering to vote in the district as Claverack and Columbia County attracted those pesky city folk, changed the rules that allow voters to participate in the school board and budget election.

Many people know that if you own more than one home, and you spend at least 30 days a year in each home, you can choose where you register to vote. You can't choose more than one location, so you only get one vote - that's pretty easily monitored and there is little evidence that second homeowners over-vote. But it has been popular for weekenders to register in the County because they feel their vote "counts more" up here - our local elections are often decided by a handful of votes.

In New York state, school board elections are not held according to all the same rules as regular elections - there is a book of statutes called Education Law that allows boards to create their own rules for deciding who is allowed to vote. By choosing "poll registration" and opting out of using the County voter rolls, the THSD Board gets to decide who is a resident and who's not.

THSD requires anyone who is not already on their own rolls (you can find out whether you are at https://www.taconichills.k12.ny.us/page/2023-24-budget-vote, click the "Am I registered?" link) to meet their residency requirements. New York says you can vote in a school election if you are 18+, a US citizen, and resided in the district for 30 days prior to the election. THSD requires that if you haven't voted in a school board election before, you must prove that 30 day residency by providing:

• Government Issued ID with a physical address in the district (such as a drivers license)

• Other “government” documentation such as a tax return with a local address

• A bank statement with physical address

• A paystub with physical address

• Or a property deed or lease with individual’s name and either utility bills from winter months, a local car registration, or an insurance card with a local address

So to prove you've been here for 30 days prior to a mid-May election you might need a winter utility bill? It's pretty obvious that these requirements are designed to eliminate weekenders or part time residents who are less likely to change their drivers license address or have their bills sent to their upstate homes - even if they've changed their voter registration to Columbia County. If this describes you, you can vote in local town board elections and for state and federal offices here, but you can't vote for school board officials.

Maybe you don't care. Until you look at your property tax bills. You get two of them - one from the County and one from the School District.

The spending decisions for that money rest with the school board. They control millions of dollars without disclosing spending plans. Faculty are leaving, rates of college acceptance are poor, non-white kids and those for whom English is a second language appear to be underserved, and the board's lack of transparency is a frequent complaint from local residents.

Poll registration was adopted in December 2019. Since then, due to pandemic distancing rules, it has been doubly difficult to figure out whether the school board has declared votes invalid under this policy. I've learned that FOIL requests to learn about vote counting have been denied, stating that accepted vs. denied vote counts are not recorded and reasons for rejection are not disclosed. This is hardly transparency.

According to sources tied to local political parties (who are used to operating under conventional election law, not education election law), the THSD situation is within the norm for school board elections. The boards operate under weak guidelines from the state, and are allowed to decide their own voting rules. In fact, even if a voter meets the THSD requirments for documenting residency, their policy states that "This is not an “all- inclusive/exclusive of all else” list". In other words, they can still deny your right to vote.

It might seem logical to deny school board elections to those who are less deeply invested in the community. After all, a weekender is unlikely to have kids in school in the district. But this logic ignores the tax impact of an uncontrolled school board, and it ignores the positive impact that well-managed school systems have on the whole community - including weekenders and retirees.

I'm continuing to try to understand the impact of these voting rules on the voting public. Maybe it's negligible.

Perhaps school board elections are so poorly attended - especially by second homeowners - that the issue is only a theoretical one.

This voting system unlikely to change unless different-thinking people are seated on the board in the future. At that point the BoardWhatever the case, it's a case of intentional suppression of a group of potential voters, and it might serve as an incentive to look more closely at the actions of any group in power.