New York’s Changes in Election Law Mean More People Will Be Able to Vote!

And, it could mean the difference between winning and losing!

Throughout the years, I’ve attended several State of the State speeches in Albany from our Governors. Consequently, I’m mostly immune to them now, having left almost every one of them with the terrible feeling that, “There’s a day of my life I’ll never get back”.

 So I didn’t watch Governor Hochul’s performance this year and have contented myself with just reading what the pundits say the morning after.

 Yawn.

Yet, I have to admit that I’m a little disappointed by not having paid closer attention. Finally, this Governor addressed several issues regarding the expansion of voting rights that I’ve been advocating for since the invention of the ballot box. What’s strange is that we didn’t do anything about these issues for years and instead just complained about low voter turnout.

Fact is, the main reason we have one of the lowest voter turn-out of democracies in the world is because we make it incredibly difficult to cast a ballot in the first place. According to Pew Research, we rank 31st out of 50 nations world-wide.

If you’re running for office, or planning on it, here are some changes in New York’s election law that should get you up and cheer for.

 Mail-in Voting

Republicans scream that this travesty will lead to massive voter fraud despite evidence from half the United States that mail-in voting does not increase voter fraud at all.

Oregon’s been doing in since 2000. Colorado since 2014 and seven other states from Washington State to Washington D.C. all have vote-by-mail elections. Fifteen other states allow some form of vote-by-mail. And now, New York is going to catch up to voting laws in the 21st century

Of course, Republicans led by Congress Member Elise Stefanik have filed numerous legal challenges to stop us from actually exercising our right to vote, standing in lock-step with her mentor, Donald Trump.

Forget about the fact that it expands the voter franchise as Republicans in general are actually trying to limit voting opportunities rather than expand them.

It also saves money. And, since Ms. Stefanik is constantly screaming about wasteful spending, perhaps this is one way she could get behind this movement.

Most importantly, mail-in-voting allows communities with large populations of transportation-challenged senior citizens like me to exercise their right to vote without having to figure out how they’re going to get to the polls on election day.

Republicans also grouse and growl because more Democrats and Unaffiliated Voters cast their ballots early or took advantage of mail-in-voting during the pandemic.

That’s because Democrats and Unaffiliated Voters outnumber registered Republicans two to one! Of course, there will be more of them.

Duh.

Switching Local Elections to Even Numbered Years

To increase voter turnout (an anathema to most Republicans who want FEWER people to vote rather than more) local elections outside New York City will be moved from odd number years to even. That means elections for everything from Town Clerk to County Legislator will be held at the same time we elect Governors or Presidents.

All of which means more people will vote. It’s long been a statistical fact that the highest voter turnout is in Presidential Election years. The next year, a “local year” is reserved for offices like Town Supervisors, Council members, Highway Superintendents or maybe County Legislators. Voter turnout drops dramatically as these seats are often unopposed, meaning that a lot of voters see no reason to get out and vote at all. The third year of the cycle is the race for Governor which spikes the voting turnout upward, and the fourth year of the cycle goes back to local offices in which barely anyone votes at all.

Moving the local contests to even years when people are voting for President or Governor will dramatically change turnout and expand voter franchise.

Same Day Voter Registration

Last but certainly not least, New Yorkers will finally be able to register to vote on the first day of early voting and then cast their ballot the same day. Antiquated deadlines for registration go back to the days when we used paper for everything … pre-computer, an era half of the population wasn't even alive for.

I worked at the County Board of Elections when I was just 19, and I remember alphabetizing everything by hand and entering everything into huge spiral books. It was cumbersome and it made sense that early registration deadlines were a necessary evil.

But now though, there’s no excuse for it. Almost half the states allow it, and now New York has come into the real world.

 * * *

These are all game-changers for elections. More people will be registering. More people will be voting. And, a lot of these people will be your voters.

The best thing to do is head down to your local Board of Elections and get a full briefing on what this all means.

After all, as long as you’re doing it, you might as well win.