Len Bernardo, the Ulster County Independence Party Boss.

Change the misleading form that draws in thousands of unsuspecting voters

Read The Daily News article published Tuesday, December 11, 2012.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• As chairman of News Corp., Rupert Murdoch heads a global media colossus that owns television, movie and publishing enterprises — all requiring sophisticated expertise in fields ranging from finance to law to technology. Yet Murdoch made the mistake of registering to vote in New York as a member of the Independence Party when he had intended to enroll in 2010 as independent of a political organization.
• As anchor of CNBC’s “Closing Bell” business program, Maria Bartiromo delves into the details of corporate balance sheets and Wall Street fluctuations in order to present them precisely to viewers. Yet Bartiromo, too, signed up with the Independence Party when she had wanted to register as an independent voter “to maintain my impartiality” as a journalist.
• Murdoch and Bartiromo are among the legions who have fallen prey to the close similarity between the words IndependENCE and independENT.
• Their errors exemplify voter confusion that has enabled Independence Party leaders to posture as chiefs of a sizable organization while misleadingly attracting votes for their candidates on election days.
• The Daily News has called on New York officials — most importantly Gov. Cuomo — to shun the Independence Party unless its leadership changes the organization’s name so as to make clear that the party is, in fact, a party and not a general repository for independent voters.
• The New York State Board of Elections must redesign its voter registration forms to reduce the Independence Party’s ability to exploit voter error. It’s imperative for the board to stop aiding and abetting the Independence Party’s deceptions.

Read The Daily News article