NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – If you’re registered to vote in New York City, anyone can now see your name, home address and party affiliation online.
The Board of Elections recently dumped the city’s voter rolls on its website – info on more than 4.6 million registered voters.
The database is sorted by districts, then party and street name. The info not only includes a voter’s home address but also his or her apartment number.
Elections officials say the info was already available for the public to see, but privacy advocates say it could open New Yorkers up to scamming and political intimidation.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office criticized the move, with his spokeswoman telling The New York Times that “The New York City Board of Elections’ decision was theirs to make, but we believe sensitive voter information should always be protected.”
The Elections Board has long made the voter rolls available upon request, but they’re usually printed or put on a CD for a fee.
The board’s executive director, Michael Ryan, says the information was posted to the site because the primaries were moved up from September to June, and they weren't able to get the physical roll books out by the mandated date of Feb. 1.
Ryan understands why there is concern but doesn't believe it is an issue.
"People are sentitive to that and I think people don't understand that that is a matter of public record," Ryan told 1010 WINS.
He says there's more information available if a person or organization comes in and requests it from the board.
“You as a citizen or a group could come to our office, request an entire voter list, and get much more information than this,” Ryan told the Times.
Voters’ genders, dates of birth, phone numbers and email addresses are also available for a fee if requested, but they’re not available in the online database.