Candidate Proposes a Law to Prohibit Board of Elections Employees from Campaigning 
Anna Lewis, Attorney, and Candidate for State Senate in New York's 31st District, is calling for reforms to the State's election process. Her plans include promoting less restrictive ballot access, establishing an independent redistricting commission, establishing statewide campaign finance, ending patronage based hiring at the Board of Elections, and passing a law prohibiting its employees from participating in campaigns. Ms. Lewis was removed from the ballot during her 2009 run for Civil Court Judge. Speaking to a local editorial board, Anna Lewis remarked, "I wholeheartedly encourage a more open electoral process," and proposed a law prohibiting Board of Elections employees from engaging in campaign activities. The victim of a bizarre, but not uncommon, abuse of power in her Civil Court campaign, Ms. Lewis explained, "My petition signatures were challenged by my opponent. A high-ranking official responsible for overseeing the Board of Elections' report on the validity of my signatures had himself collected signatures on her behalf. My law will ensure blatant power abuses like these are no longer tolerated." She expounded, "The Democratic County party, who supported my opponent, appointed the commissioners who heard my case at the Board. The Judges who heard my case in court won their elections through the support of the same organization. From top to bottom, the two parties hold so much institutional power over the electoral process that it not only prevents competition from outside their ranks, it also prevents change from within. Restricting employment at the agency, through a stranglehold on the process, to only those chosen by Democratic and Republican officials stymies the potential flourishing of effective third parties." Ms. Lewis proposed ending the patronage based scheme, "In order for Board employees to objectively execute their responsibilities, they must be free of political intentions and outside influence. They should not be appointed by party officials, but instead hired on the merits of experience and competence. The agency is a model of perpetual cronyism, a system run on an unhealthy collusion between two political parties and our government. It needs restructuring now." The candidate went on to express support for an independent state redistricting commission, statewide campaign finance, and less restrictive ballot access, "I was removed from the ballot after collecting three times the required amount of petition signatures to qualify. Arcane rules invalidating signatures because a voter had signed an earlier "prior" petition should be eliminated, as well as rules invalidating signatures collected by a witness who failed to specify their borough of residency below their witness signature. We should also lower the number of signatures required to run for any respective seat. As it stands now, active citizens are institutionally discouraged from running for office, dissuaded by the all too daunting task of qualifying for the ballot." An Attorney for 26 years, Anna Lewis serves as a prosecutor with New York State's Health Department, where she prosecutes physicians for professional misconduct, including cases involving insurance fraud, negligence and the sexual abuse of patients. She resides on the Upper West Side.