After New York Voters and Thousands of relentless Volunteers Elected a durable Democratic State Senate Majority in November, winning 8 Seats and sending 39 Members to the 63-Seat Chamber, History-making Incoming Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-35th District) and her Team released the much-anticipated 2019 NYS Senate Committee Leadership Appointments. Among them were a few Surprises and Newly Created Committees.
The big News on the Voting Rights front is that Brooklyn Senator-Elect Zellnor Myrie (D-20th District), who ousted Jesse Hamilton earlier this year, will Chair the Senate Elections Committee and Oversee what is guaranteed to be a Massive, Exciting, and Controversial push for Voting Reform in New York over the coming months and years. Pro-Voter Advocates should remember that when it comes to advancing Civil Rights, nothing is Guaranteed and the Struggle continues!
The LetNYVote Agenda includes these Reforms:
- Early Voting
- Same Day Voter Registration
- Robust Automatic Voter Registration
- Fairer Deadlines to Change Party Affiliation
- Consolidated State and Federal Primaries
- Voter Friendly Ballot Design
- Voting Rights Restoration of Felons -on April 18, 2018, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo Signed an Executive Order Restoring the Right to Vote immediately following Release for most New Yorkers who are On Parole after Incarceration for a Felony.
I would add:
- No-Excuse Absentee Ballots with Tracking of Delivery
- Ranked-Choice Voting (RCV) for Primaries and General Elections, for State and Federal Elections
- Top-Three Open Primaries, One Ballot for All Voters. This will require the Separation of Party Elections Ballots from State and Federal Ballots
Let me know if you have other Ideas.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
2 comments:
Dear Michael, top-three primaries with no ranked choice voting is a silly idea. Inevitably there would be many races with two Democrats and one Republican, or two Republicans and one Democrat. That would not be fair at all to the party with two candidates; they would split their vote. I am surprised that someone who is so aware would recommend such an idea.
I am sorry, it should have said with Ranked-Choice Voting. Don't you think, with the dislike of the two-party system, that the third slot could go to an independent?
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