Dear Lucas,
More than two weeks after Election Day, three State Senate races remain too close to call. The winners of these races will determine which party controls the State Senate and sets the legislative agenda in 2011.
As you know, this year we replaced the old mechanical lever machines with optical scan voting machines. On Election Day, there were reports of significant problems with these new machines, and reports continue to come in. Just this week, election officials in Erie County found that memory cards in some of the machines were unreadable.
There is so much at stake. Marriage equality, women's rights, green jobs: progress on all these issues is on the line. We cannot allow mechanical errors to disenfranchise New Yorkers and decide the fate of the State Senate. Every vote must be counted.
Can you contribute $10, $25 or even $50 to help ensure that every vote is fairly counted?
To ensure that every vote is counted, and no voter is disenfranchised, the New York Senate Dems have launched the largest voter protection effort in the history of the state of New York. Their legal teams are working around the clock to make sure that every vote is counted, but they need your help.
Republicans have formed their own legal teams, with an entirely different goal. They're trying to game the system by preventing a full and fair accounting of the votes. We cannot let that happen. We must ensure that all the votes are counted and the voice of every New Yorker is heard.
Every dollar you give will help protect the vote. Can you give $10, $25, or $50?
I know that times are tough and that this is asking a lot. But I wouldn't ask if it wasn't so important.
Together, we'll make sure that every vote is counted, and real change comes to New York.
Thanks for your support.
Christine C. Quinn
NYC Council Speaker