Professor Jerry Goldfeder cowrote a column published in the New York Law Journal about two significant New York State election reforms that have yet to be passed.
In our previous column we noted that Albany has taken some exciting steps at reforming New York’s election laws, but its work is not done. Two critical reforms remain to be passed: Automatic Voter Registration (AVR), and rights restoration for all citizens living in the community with convictions in their past. For the first time in many years, there appears to be sufficient political will to make New York a leader on election reform. Yet, further efforts seem to be stalled. Given the notoriously low turnout in New York’s elections, it would be a shame to not move ahead on reforms as simple and significant as AVR and rights restoration.
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Automatic voter registration can have a transformative impact in New York. In the last four years, 15 states plus the District of Columbia have adopted AVR. Lawmakers in 22 more states across the country have introduced AVR legislation this session.
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Rights restoration reform has also been on the table in many states for years, with some recent successes. Just last year, Louisiana restored voting rights to thousands of people on probation and parole, and Florida overwhelmingly passed a referendum ending a policy of lifetime disenfranchisement for all felonies—the greatest single expansion of the right to vote seen in decades (though the Florida Legislature is currently attempting to circumvent the referendum’s effect). Just within the last few weeks, Colorado’s Legislature passed a bill restoring voting rights to state residents upon their release from prison; it awaits the governor’s signature.