Talking Points
Saturday, January 18, 2019
NY Intelligent Voting Reform Will be Proceeding Rapidly
With thanks to the New York Democratic Lawyers Council, here is an update on how the Democrats are improving election procedures so as to maximize voter participation, while maintaining voter privacy and election integrity.
HJB
"We're going to implement early voting...We are finally going to give New Yorkers an honest, functional, ethical government that they deserve."
- NYS Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Dec. 10, 2018
Happy New Year, VoterPros!
With the holidays behind us and the 2019 Legislative Session underway, it's truly a new day and a new dynamic in Albany. After decades of inaction and civic decay on New York voting rights, the newly-elected history-makingSenate Majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie have placed pro-voter election reform at the top of the legislative agenda, prioritizing a package of voting bills (see list here) that NYDLC has advocated for for years!
Beginning this Monday, New York will begin to enact Early Voting and other long-overdue voting law changes (NYT) as the bills are voted out of committee in both houses. The Governor has called for and indicatedthat he will sign these measures. NYDLCers have spent years supporting these reforms and we invite you to take up a front row seat as real progress advancing core civil rights sweeps over the Capitol. Join us on Monday (1/14) at 11AM where pro-voter advocates will gather at the Million Dollar Staircase to witness and join in on a series of exciting developments!
SO ELECTIONS DO HAVE CONSEQUENCES!!
2019 represents a new era in New York State as both houses of the legislature are firmly in the hand of Democrats, including many newly elected young, progressives. For us--as voting rights advocates--it appears that our years of hard work and advocacy may come to fruition, and not in the swampy, rights-depriving way that things work when GOPers take power, but in expanded rights and opportunities for our citizens.
For too long New York has been pointed to by states such as North Carolina as an example of a supposedly progressive state with horrendous voting laws, thereby giving cover to all those Republican-led states seeking to suppress the vote. Not any more. Elections do have consequences and, sometimes, they are good.
But if our close-to-15-years of work in this space has taught us anything, it's the need for patience and relentless persistence. We know there are no silver bullets when it comes to election reform and what is needed is a comprehensive overhaul. This bill package begins that process, but there is a lot of work to be done and we need to keep the pressure on at this critical stage and prepare to help with responsible implementation. Stay with us--this is only the beginning of a very different era in New York State governance.
State and National Voting Reform Push
NYDLC's comprehensive New York State voting reform agenda and memos supporting a pro-voter overhaul of our election laws can be found here and here is the full LetNYVote agenda, not all of which is included in the package moving on Monday.
Meanwhile in Washington... As lawmakers stalemated over the President's insistence that America (and not Mexico) pay for the construction of a border wall that experts say would not actually address the concerns it is being proposed to resolve (CATO, NPR, Guardian), House Democrats introduced H.R. 1, a massive Democracy Reform proposal that includes "provisions for public financing of elections, voting rights reforms and new ethics strictures for federal officials." (WaPo). In the spirit of setting big progressive goals to advance civil rights, have a look at NYDLC's Protecting the Right to Vote: A National Agenda for Improving Access to Our Democracy.
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NYDLC's broad pro-voter national agenda includes in-depth proposals to modernize voter access norms across six issue areas, including:
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- Restoring Voting Rights Act (VRA) Pre-clearance
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- Enacting Automatic Voter Registration (AVR)
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- Expanding the Election Period
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- Reducing Barriers to In-Person Voting
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- Overhauling Disenfranchisement Laws
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- Combating Gerrymandering
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Please take a moment to help spread the word on twitter about these important voting reform proposals.
2018 Year in Review
The dedication of the NYDLC family is incredible. We think it's important to reflect on the road we've traveled together protecting #VotingRights. NYDLC is and always has been a volunteer powered endeavor supported and led by attorneys, voting advocates, and civic-minded New Yorkers from all walks of life who cherish the franchise. This is YOUR voter protection coalition, and the leadership team hopes all members are as proud as we are with what we've accomplished together in 2018.
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Even with these exciting developments we have a lot of work to do to protect the vote across the U.S., which is why your support for NYDLC remains so critical. NYDLC was founded in 2005 on the premise that safeguarding the right to vote requires a focused and sustained 24/7/365 voice for fundamental civil rights. NYDLC's goal remains as it has always been--to ensure that all eligible voters have a meaningful opportunity to cast a ballot free from difficulty or intimidation and have their ballots counted accurately. Click here to support NYDLC's 2019 Voter Protection Fund and help sustain these efforts!
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[Opinions expressed in Talking Points and in reader comments to Talking Points are the opinions of their authors and not necessarily of the Rockville Centre Democratic Club or its officers and directors]
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