The state League received a grant as part of the Making Democracy Work Project sponsored by The League of Women Voters of US Education Fund. The project is to educate citizens throughout New York State on all of the new voting laws, and to evaluate the implementation of the new laws during the election.
The new election laws provide new procedures and locations for the public to vote early; but without the specific knowledge of their county’s implementation of the new laws, the impact of increasing voter participation may not be realized. As part of this education campaign, we plan the following:
- A website which will educate all New Yorkers especially those in underserved areas on the impact of the new voting laws. This online presence will reach across the state to inform citizens of new polling locations, hours and instructions specific to each county across the state;
- A brochure on the changes, with an insert on the specific implementation for each county and distribution focused for each county;
- Meetings of local Leagues with organizations serving under-represented populations to provide training and ensure understanding of the new procedures;
A survey of voters after the fall election to evaluate the implementation of the new procedures and determine issues for future advocacy.
A separate brochure just on the new laws, with specifics for each county as an insert, will be distributed throughout the state. Communication tools will be created and shared with local Leagues and other organizations serving diverse populations.
A survey will be developed and widely distributed to ask voters about their voting experiences with the new procedures. From the results of the survey, the input from the meetings of local League members with their county Boards of Elections, and communication with other community organizations, the state League will make recommendations to the State Board of Elections and appropriate legislative committees and staff about changes to further improve the election systems.
It is a huge project and we will need the assistance and support from many local Leagues and many, many members to make it successful! An educated public is always our goal and hopefully this will help to increase voter turnout in NYS. Stay tuned as we progress.
