Background

Today is the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965.  While we celebrate this monumental victory for civil rights, we also know there is still much work to do to effectively combat voter suppression.

Details

The New York State Senate has recently passed major voting reforms, including the implementation of an automatic voter registration (AVR) system.  The bill hasn’t been sent to the Governor yet; therefore, it's important for us to remind the Governor we will remain diligent until this crosses the finish line.

Call to Action

I invite everyone to join the fight to bring autmatic voter registration to New York by signing the petition initiated by Common Cause New York.

Additionally, below are the bills that will be advanced by the State Senate:

• Senate Bill S.8806: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris, will implement the New York Automatic Voter Registration Act of 2020 and create an automatic voter registration system through qualified New York State government agencies and departments.

• Senate Bill S.8370B: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Zellnor Myrie, will give voters notice of any deficiencies in their absentee ballot envelopes and an opportunity to fix them to ensure their votes can be counted.

• Senate Bill S.8015D: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Alessandra Biaggi, will define the term “illness” for the purposes of absentee voting to include instances where a voter is unable to appear personally at a polling place because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease-causing illness to the voter or to other members of the public.

• Senate Bill S.8799A: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Michael Gianaris, temporarily provides that any absentee ballot shall be presumed to be timely even if it does not bear a dated postmark if such ballot was received and timestamped by the day after Election Day.

• Senate Bill S.8783A: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Zellnor Myrie, temporarily allows the processing of absentee ballot applications prior to 30 days before the election.

• Senate Bill S.6886D: This legislation, sponsored by Senator James Skoufis, will require electors to vote for the Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate who received the highest number of votes in the state.

• Senate Bill S.8796A: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, temporarily allows certain party designations and nominations to be made via video teleconference.

• Senate Bill S.8465A: This legislation, sponsored by Senator John Liu, will clarify that the use of alternate, anglicized or familiar names on election petitions and ballots is acceptable provided that such name is demonstrated to be commonly used to identify that person in the person’s community and that the use of such name is not intended to mislead voters or petition signers.

• Senate Bill S.8782: This legislation, sponsored by Senator Neil Breslin, will require that in each county, the municipality with the largest population contain at least one early voting location.