Labor Unions and Civil Rights Groups Join the Fight for Early Voting

NEW YORK, NY (12/18/2017) (readMedia)-- Last week, over thirty organizations, nonprofits, labor unions, including the New York State United Teachers, SEIU 32BJ, RWDSU, CWA District 1, and civil rights organizations, including Statewide NAACP and National Action Network, civil liberties, reproductive and immigrant rights, criminal justice and re-entry groups, New American and LGBTQ community groups sent a letter demanding that Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders prioritize Early Voting in the 2018-19 budget.

Early Voting would allow citizens to cast ballots in person days, sometimes weeks, before an election. Currently, 37 states already have some form of Early Voting, leaving New York as one of only 13 states without any means to vote early except via absentee ballot.

The groups are joining with the grassroots activists and organizations who shaped Easy Elections NY to form an expanded coalition called "Let New York Vote."

The letter to Governor Cuomo and the legislative leaders is attached.

Background

New York State lags behind other states in election reform. Besides Early Voting, New York lacks many other modern election reforms. New York does not have any form of Automatic Voter Registration. Automatically registering eligible voters encourages civic participation, and provides a vehicle for state agencies to efficiently transfer voter registration information to the Board of Elections. 16 states allow post-incarceration voting, which fosters re-entry through civic participation and is easier to administer. Outdated elections are in part why only 29 percent of the state's eligible population voted in 2014, putting New York in the bottom third nationally.

New York State is currently 41st for lowest voter turn-out in the nation.

Let NY Vote, formally known as Easy Elections NY, is a statewide coalition of grassroots groups & established organizations fighting to modernize New York's elections. Their goal is to pass simple solutions in 2018 to improve our elections and make registering and voting easier for all New Yorkers.

The coalition's website is: http://www.LetNYVote.org