Now that the budget has been passed, League members should be visiting their legislators to talk about our Election Law Reform Agenda 2016. Attendees at the May 10 Lobby Training Day were updated with two handouts (click here or see homepage of state website for link): a chart with the current status of bills we support and a brief narrative paper with virtually the same information. Notice that a new bill that would allow counties to replace printed poll books with electronic poll books (like an I-Pad) has been added to the Legislation agenda. There is greater interest in this measure now that the Senate Elections Chairperson, Fred Akshar, Repub, Senate District 52, is the Senate sponsor.
You will be sharing the meeting with the other League Legislative Agenda topics so I suggest that you prioritize the Election Reform topics as follows: 1) Electronic poll books, 2) allowing pre-registration of 16 and 17 yr. olds, 3) improving the ballot layout by re-designing it to be more “voter-friendly.”
If you have time, be sure to mention the single June Primary – for 2017! There is interest in establishing the November election day as a school holiday. LWVNYS hasn’t taken a position on this – ask your legislator what she thinks.
We also were a partner with the NY Voting Coalition and the Rockefeller Institute in a forum concerning Practical Modernization of Elections. Donetta Davidson, former Colorado Secretary of State and former Chair of the US Election Assistance Commission, and Matt Crane, Clerk and Recorder of Arapahoe County, CO, joined Peter Kosinski, Commissioner, NYS Board of Elections, and Todd Valentine, Co-Executive Director of NYS Board of Elections, to discuss election reform changes implemented in CO that resulted in an increase in electoral participation. Watch the video on the state League website homepage.
Aimee Allaud, 85aimee@nycap.rr.com
