Common Cause/NY Statement on Voting Reform in Governor Cuomo's State of the State

NEW YORK, NY (01/03/2018) (readMedia)-- Today Governor Cuomo delivered his State of the State address. In response, Common Cause/NY Executive Director, Susan Lerner, issued the following response:

"Common Cause NY strongly supports measures designed to ensure the security and accuracy of our elections. But in his State of the state address, the Governor proposed a high tech blanket to protect an antiquated election system that ?cries out for common-sense low-tech improvement.

It's not enough to simply pitch the idea of early voting – a crucial change that will bring New York in line with 37 other states- as well as same day voter registration, and no penalty absentee voting. The Governor must put money behind it. Initiatives like automatic voter registration, electronic poll books, flexibility to change parties, and parolee voting rights are pivotal upgrades to our current system of elections administration that can not be ignored.

New Yorkers deserve an up-to-date system protected by state of the art cybersecurity measures. That's why we're calling on the Governor to make sure there's funding for early voting and other basic improvements in his 2018 budget."