THE CITY OF NEW YORK

OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

N E W Y O R K , N Y 10 00 7

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 28, 2010
No. 447
www.nyc.gov

MAYOR BLOOMBERG URGES NEW YORK CITY VOTERS TO CALL 311

OR TWEET #NYCVOTES ON ELECTION DAY TO REPORT
ANY PROBLEMS AT THE POLLS

Data Will Be Collected to Help the Board of Elections Identify and Address Problems

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg today announced via Twitter that 311 will track Election
Day complaints and urged New Yorkers to call 311 to report any issues they observe at their poll
sites. For the last several election cycles, the Administration has made offers to the City’s Board
of Elections to have 311 handle election day complaints, and to collect data on such complaints.
The Board, which operates independently, has declined these offers. Nevertheless, 311 receives
many election day calls, which are transferred to the Board of Elections. On Tuesday, for the
first time, 311 will begin collecting basic information on the nature of these calls, before callers
are transferred to the Board of Elections. 311 operators will record whether the reason for the
call concerns difficulties with poll sites, voting machine, or poll site workers. All data collected
will be shared with the Board of Elections to help it identify and address problems and improve
overall service delivery. In addition, preliminary data will be released to the public on Election
Day.

The Mayor (@nycmayorsoffice) via Twitter is also encouraging voters to tweet any
problems they encounter at the polls – with the hashtag #nycvotes, providing the public with
another avenue for making their voices heard. The Board of Elections and the public will be able
to monitor the Tweets, as will the Mayor’s Office.

“The performance of the Board of Elections on Primary Day was unacceptable, and New
Yorkers deserve better,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “All government agencies should be held
accountable for their performance, and that takes on added meaning when something as
fundament as the integrity of our democratic process is at stake.”

For the past several years, New Yorkers have called 311 to access basic information
about voting, such as where to find their poll sites, and to reach the Board of Elections to report
operational issues that require immediate attention, such as poll sites that have not opened on
time. The Mayor’s Office has repeatedly urged the Board to adopt data-driven performance
standards, and offered resources to facilitate data collection, but the Board has declined. The
operational concerns surrounding the September 14th primary again demonstrated the need for
greater data collection and transparency.

(more)
 The 311 Customer Service Center was established in 2003 to give the public quick and
easy access to all non-emergency City government information and services. Calls are answered
by operators, 24 hours a day, seven days a week in an average of 30 seconds, with 90 percent of
all calls answered in 30 seconds or less. Approximately 50,000 calls come in to 311 daily, and
translation service is provided in nearly 180 languages.

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Contact: Stu Loeser / Marc La Vorgna (212) 788-2958