I attended this meeting in Queens. The decision on what will be on the ballot in November's General Election will be made at a 8/11/2010 meeting in Manhattan. We know Term Limits will be on but not in what form.
Use the above link to view the meeting.
Attorney Harry Kresky speaks before the NYC Charter Revision Commission at the Queens Borough Hall, regarding nonpartisan elections for city offices.
Anthony Crowell, a member of the commission, likes nonpartisan elections.
NYC Charter Revision issue forum at Lehman College in the Bronx June 2, 2010, featured an expert panel on the topic of voter participation, including NYC Independence Party attorney Harry Kresky. He spoke about the American tradition of expanding democracy as a civil rights issue. Independents are disenfranchised in the crucial first round of voting in New York City. The only other major city to hold partisan municipal elections is Philadelphia.
During the meeting each commission member expressed their thoughts on this issue. I think they lean to do this but not this year. They have hired an outside consultant, I think it is Dr. Lisa Handley, President of an International Election Consulting firm, to report to them with current stats: how it affects minority voters and turnout since 2003 from cities who use non partisan elections, before the 8/11/2010 meeting.
It is up to the 1.4 million NYC voters who are unable to vote in the most important primary in the country to let the commission know "NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote".
Important to this issue is how will it work. Here are some process issues:
1. Ballot - Optionally put your party logo, but you should also be allowed to show the logos of all party endorsements.
2. Signatures - State law states: 7,500 for Mayor, Comptroller, Public Advocate, and Borough Presidents, 2,700 for City Council. These should be for all candidates. I do not know how this will change Write-Ins.
3. Primary - If one or two candidates no need for primary as they would go to the General Election. Three or more candidates go to primary. To really make this the voters choice, make this an Instant Runoff Vote (IRV) system to get the truly Top Two that will go to the General Election.
4. Public Financing - There is the possibility to reduce the cost of elections by removing run-off elections and public funding in the General Election would only be available for the Top Two candidates.
Another issue is the Voting Rights Act. Since three of the five NYC boroughs fall under the act, the change would need their approval. During the 2003 commission J. Gerald Hebert, former chief of the Department of Justice's Voting Rights Division testified that there have been at least 150 instances in which the Department of Justice has reviewed a change from partisan to nonpartisan election system over the past decades and all had been approved.
Michael H. Drucker
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