Myths and Realities of NY Constitutional Convention

Credit: The 1777 convention / NY Public Library

It’s New York Election Season, and you’ve stumbled into what might be the Hottest Issue on November’s General Election Ballot. The Back of the Ballot Con-Con Question, the shorthand for a Constitutional Convention, a gathering of Elected Delegates from around the State who would meet to Revise the State's Constitution.

Many States have Initiative & Referendum (I&R), giving their Voters the Opportunity, by Collection enough Signatures, to put Changes to State Laws, on their General Election Ballot Yearly.

Every 20 years, according to New York's Constitution, Voters must be asked whether they want to Hold a Convention and 2017, is year 20.

Voters are Angry, for lots of reasons. Mostly they’re fed Up with:

- Government that no longer seems to work for them.

- Big Campaign Donors getting Favors from Elected Officials.

- Lawmakers who use their Influence to Line their Pockets.

- Voting Laws that Protect Incumbents.

- Rules that make it Difficult to cast a Ballot, or to Run for Office without the Backing of a Party Machine.

- A State Government that Refuses to Address these Ills or Pass Laws Supported by most New Yorkers. And perhaps the most Frustrating of all.

So Voters become Cynical and Learn to Distrust the System. And they Drop Out. Or, they look to Rebel. And now comes the Prospect of a Constitutional Convention, a vehicle for a Constituency ready for Change.

At the moment, however, Opponents of a Convention are flooding the Media with Political Negative Advertising. Some of their Arguments are Erroneous. Most are based on Fear, the Fear of the Unknown. No one knows for sure what would happen in a Constitutional Convention, they say. And they’re Right.

They Prefer No Change to the Status Quo, and would rather Seek the Change they want by Continuing to Work with a State Legislature that has Refused to do just that. They are Rejecting an Opportunity to take the Reins away from the Corrupt Status Quo and Purge the System of its Rot. They’d rather Deal with the Devil they Know, while Acknowledging there are a Lot of Devils in Albany. And they have Disingenuously rallied under the Misleading Banner of “New Yorkers Against Corruption.”

One Victim of this Heated Rhetoric is the Truth. There is a lot being said that is simply Not Fact. To make a good Decision on whether to support a Constitutional Convention, one needs to understand what is Myth and what is Reality.

MYTH: The People will not be Part of the Process.
REALITY: The People will be Involved every step of the way. Voters will Decide Next Month whether to Hold a Constitutional Convention. If they say Yes, they'll Vote in November 2018 on which Delegates to Send. After the Convention, which would begin in April 2019, the Public will Vote one more time on whether to Accept or Reject whatever Changes to the Constitution are Proposed by the Convention.

MYTH: There already is a Process to Amend the Constitution and it works. The State Legislature can Propose an Amendment by Voting for it in Two Consecutive Sessions and the Submitting it to the Public for its Vote.
REALITY: It's true that the Constitution has been Amended more than 200 times since it was Rewritten at the 1894 Convention. And there are Two Amendments on the November Ballot. One would help Communities in the Protected Adirondack Park Area with needed Road-Related Projects. The Second would Strip State Pensions from Public Officials with Felony Corruption Convictions. And the Legislature was basically Shamed into doing that, despite more than Two Dozen Elected State Officials being Hauled into Court on Corruption Charges in the last Decade. Only after the former Leaders of the State Senate and Assembly were Exposed as Self-Dealers who Deceived the Residents of the State did they Agree to put the Measure on the Ballot, their Cases will be Re-Tried. Meanwhile, Ethics and Voting Reforms and Other Issues supported by large Majorities of New Yorkers don't come close to seeing the Light of Legislative Day. So Yes, there is a Process, but most often it doesn't work all that well.

MYTH: A Non-Vote on November's Ballot will be Counted as a Yes Vote.
REALITY: If you don't Vote, you're Not Counted, as in every other Election. This seems to be a Scare Tactic.

MYTH: Legislators will Seek to be the Delegates, they'll Win Election and they'll Hijack the Process.
REALITY: Legislators can indeed run, but consider this. Delegates to the Convention must be Paid an Assembly Member's Salary of $79,500. That means that Lawmakers, who also will be Running for their Legislative Seats in 2018, would be trying to Collect a Second Salary while working One Job. Double-Dipping never sits well with Voters. It's hard to imagine many Legislators exposing themselves to Voters like that. As for Controlling the Process, the Delegate Selection Process is Open to all Voters, Yes, you can Run.

MYTH: Electing Delegates by Senate Districts that are Gerrymandered to keep Republicans in Control means the Constitutional Convention deck will be stacked in their favor.
REALITY: Voters will Elect the 204 Delegates, Three from Each of the Senate's 63 Districts plus 15 Statewide. The GOP holds 31 Senate Seats, the Party Maintains Senate Control with help from one Democrat who Caucuses with them plus a Group of breakaway Democrats called the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC). Some Democratic Districts are heavily Democratic and could Elect Three Democratic Delegates. Some Republican Districts lean only slightly that way and Democrats could pick up One or even Two Delegates in those Districts. Many Minor Parties across the Political Spectrum will Field their own Candidates, and True Independents can Run if they get the Required Number of Signatures on their Petitions. Campaigns are likely to be spirited, and mere Citizens not Bound by Major Party dictates could Run and Win. All of which means that in a State in which Registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by 2 to 1 and 6 to 1 in New York City, GOP Control of a Constitutional Convention is Unlikely.

MYTH: A Constitutional Convention would be a Monumental Waste of Money.
REALITY: Estimates for the Cost of the Last convention, in 1967, range from $7 Million to $15 Million. Realistic Estimates from Experts put the Cost of this Convention at somewhere between $50 Million and $100 Million. What's the Cost of a Democracy?

MYTH: Public Pensions, Collective Bargaining, and the "Forever Wild" Clause that Protects the Adirondacks could be Eliminated by a Constitutional Convention.
REALITY: That's Fearmongering. None of those Issues are Goals for Convention Proponents. And each is widely supported by New Yorkers who, remember, have to Vote on any Potential Amendments produced by a Convention. The Right of Public Workers to a Pension came from the 1938 Constitutional Convention.

MYTH: A Constitutional Convention would be an Opaque Exercise in Backroom Deal-Making, with Delegates Horse-Trading Support for Proposals and Producing an Unholy Mishmash of Amendments.
REALITY: This is an Epic Example of succumbing to the Cynicism that Albany is so good at Creating. Assuming that a Convention would be the Spiritual Twin of the Capital's Three-Men-in-a-Room Style of Governance ignores that Modern Technology should make this the most Transparent Convention in State History. Every Minute could be Live-Streamed, and probably would be. Social Media would guarantee that Virtually nothing would be Secret. And all Votes would be Public.

A Constitutional Convention could propose a raft of Improvements:

- Making it Easier for People to Cast Ballots with Early Voting, "No-Excuse" Absentee Voting, combined Federal and State Primary Dates, and Simpler Ballots.

- Making it easier for Candidates to get on the Ballot.

- Producing Election Districts that more Accurately Reflect the Voters in them by adopting an Independent Redistricting Commission.

- Instituting Real Ethics Reforms such as Limits on Outside Income for Legislators, Term Limits, a Full-Time Legislature, Closing the LLC Loophole for Campaign Contributions, and a State Public Campaign Financing.

- Instituting Initiative & Referendum (I&R), giving Voters the Opportunity, by Collection enough Signatures, to put Changes to State Laws, on their General Election Ballot Yearly.

- Adding a Constitutional Right to Clean Air and Water, and Protection from Discrimination based on Gender and Sexual Orientation.

A Constitutional Convention is, literally, a Once-in-a-Generation Opportunity. Every 20 Years, you the Voter gets to Decide: If Legislators are not doing what you sent them to Albany to do, you can do it Yourself. If you give up that chance, Two Decades is a long time to Wait. Every New Yorker wants a Better State Government. The Vote in November is the Chance to Answer the Question: How do We make that Happen?

Vote YES!









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker