(Ed.s note: The following letter was sent to BOE President Robert Seiden and is printed here at the writer's request.)

On behalf of the Port Washington General Council of Homeowner Associations, please be advised, in regard to school district elections, that our association is in support of a minimum of three convenient demographically dispersed voting locations. To have less, in our view, is to limit the access to voting. Our association maintains that in the spirit of fair representation the least restraint to the widest representation must be provided.

Separately, this is an opportunity for the school district, once and for all, to dispel the impression that certain areas of Port Washington containing larger numbers of senior citizens, who may or may not favor increased school budget spending, are being discouraged from voting. And to further end any impression that the district, in general, does not support wide voter participation.

Further, as the school tax constitutes 60 percent of our real property tax, it is our consideration that arguing for fewer polling places for reasons of thrift is upheld neither by economics, nor good when weighed against the major right at issue.

Accordingly, we note our concerns, and recommend that three polling places, as described above, be provided.

James Ansel, as President

Port Washington General Council of Homeowner Associations