LET NY VOTE COALITION WELCOMES 2026 LEGISLATIVE PRIORITIES

NEW YORK, NY (04/16/2026) (readMedia)-- The Let NY Vote Coalition is pleased to announce that three of its legislative priorities will be heard at the April 21st NYS Senate Elections Committee Meeting:

Democracy During Detention Act (S440 Myrie / A2121 Walker):

Codifies the right to vote for eligible New Yorkers detained pretrial or for lesser offenses in correctional facilities who have not lost the right to vote. State-wide, provides local officials with authorization and consistent guidance to facilitate timely access to at least one method of effective and secure voter registration and casting ballots.

Student Voter Empowerment Act (S2056A Webb / A3954A Raga):

This Act expands access to the ballot for young voters and strengthens voter engagement on college campuses and universities by requiring each institution to designate a Student Voting Coordinator to implement a two-year Student Voter Action Plan and organize at least three civic events annually. It ensures students receive election-related information through multiple channels, and standardizes student voter registration practices in collaboration with local election boards. If enacted, the NY Student Voter Empowerment Act would be the most comprehensive student voter empowerment act in the United States, solidifying New York's leadership in advancing youth voting rights and civic education.

Voting Integrity and Verification Act of NY (S7116 Cleare / A6287 Cunningham):

Guarantees that, in polling places, New York voters have the right to hand-mark a durable paper ballot (or to choose an accessible ballot marking device to mark an identical ballot). This would preserve the use of hand-marked paper ballots, which are the gold standard for recording voter intent, and prevent the use of expensive voting machines that replace simple pens – and intrude between the voter and their ballot.

Although advancing these measures out of Senate Elections is a great first step, both houses will still need to advance and calendar the bills for a floor vote in order to pass them before lawmakers depart Albany in early June.

"Ensuring that every student has access to the tools and information they need to participate in our democracy is essential," said State Senator Lea Webb. "The Student Voter Empowerment Act is a crucial step toward making civic engagement more accessible by requiring each SUNY and CUNY institution to designate a staff member dedicated to voter education and registration. By providing students with the resources they need to make their voices heard, we are strengthening our democracy and fostering a new generation of engaged citizens."

"A paper ballot, that leaves a paper trail and that can be touched and examined by the voter is not only the safest and most incorruptible option, but the one that voters trust the most," said State Senator Cordell Cleare in reference to the Voting Integrity and Verification Act of NY.

In past years, Let NY Vote successfully advocated for the passage of over a dozen landmark voting reforms that ensure more New Yorkers have access to the ballot and a modern election system, including early voting, online voter registration, and vote-by-mail. At a time of extreme attacks on our democracy and the right to vote, especially as the midterms are approaching, New York must continue defending access to the ballot and bolster democracy at home.

More importantly, we need to advocate for the three aforementioned policies to pass in the Assembly, where the Election Law committee has only two bills on today's agenda. We call on the Assembly leadership to advance the many bills awaiting action.

During the rest of the legislative session, Let NY Vote will be advocating for the passage of the rest of our legislative priorities:

Time Extender for Polling Place Disruptions (S4602A Gounardes / A5846A Gibbs): When voting in polling places is disrupted for more than 15 minutes, allows county Boards of Election to extend time for voting at the impacted location, without the need for costly, unpredictable, and often-elusive litigation.

Deter Frivolous Challengers to Voter Qualifications(S3233 Kavanagh / A6354 Walker): Current law permits anyone lawfully present at a polling place to challenge a voter's eligibility to vote without having to identify themselves. This bill would require any person (other than a poll worker) who intends to challenge a duly registered voter's eligibility at the polls to first complete a "challenge affidavit" that identifies them (e.g., name, address, and employer) as well as reasons and facts supporting the challenge.

Same Day Voter Registration (S5751 Gianaris / A2162 Carroll R.): Expands same-day voter registration to every day of in-person voting by eliminating the New York State Constitutional requirement of registering to vote ten days ahead of Election Day, thus easing the effort of busy voters to register, and encouraging greater voter participation.

Let NY Vote continues to support a range of other reforms intended to improve New York's election administration. The April 21st NYS Senate Elections Committee meeting will also cover:

Minimum qualifications for all local election commissioners (S5452 Comrie)

Full-time election commissioners outside of NYC (S1087 Mayer / A5056 Jacobson)

"The responsibilities of election commissioners are more important and greater than they have ever been," said Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson. "This is why it is necessary for all commissioners to be full-time employees. It is wrong to have the deputy commissioner be full-time while the commissioner is only part-time."

ABOUT LET NY VOTE

Let NY Vote is a nonpartisan, statewide coalition of over 200 grassroots networks, civil rights and civil liberties organizations, re-entry communities, good government groups, unions, social service providers, immigrant and disability rights groups, and everyday citizens fighting to improve our elections by making voter registration and voting more accessible and equitable for every eligible New Yorker. Members of the coalition include 32BJ SEIU, the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, Brooklyn Voters Alliance, Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, Citizen Action NY, Citizens Union, Common Cause NY, Generation Vote, League of Women Voters of NYS, NAACP New York, NALEO, New York Civil Liberties Union, NYDLC, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, Stand Up America, Vote Early NY, several local Indivisible chapters, and many more.

A full list of the members of Let NY Vote can be found here.