Friends and neighbors in Bethlehem, New York, working for progressive causes.
VOTING AND ELECTION REFORM
The Huddle is working to make changes in New York and federal laws
to enfranchise voters and make voting easier and more secure.
How does the Huddle choose what our election priorities?
To choose what legislation and actions to take, the Huddle follows the lead of several voting rights and election reform organizations. As part of the Let NY Vote coalition, which is affiliated with the non-partisan voting rights organization Common Cause New York, we work on it's legislative priorities.
Let NY Vote 2024 priorities
In October 2023, Let NY Vote selected a set of ten areas that the coalition will work on during the 2024 legislative session. (Bills introduced in 2023 do not have to be reintroduced, but must be voted on again. Some bills have yet to be introduced.)
These are some of the bills that the Huddle will be working on:
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Board of Elections reform (12 bills: S263/A904, S823A/A4354A, S4542A/A7561, S5800B/A4323A, S6226E/A5691E, S6684A/A7780A, S7442/A4254, S8289, S8292, S8311/A9725, S8337, S7382A)
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VIVA and Hybrid voting machine ban (Protect Our Ballots Act) (2021-22 bills S309B/A1115C)
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Codifying voting in jails (S6875)
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SUNY/CUNY Voter Empowerment Act (no bill number yet)
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NY Voting and Elections Database bill (2021-22 bills S8202/A10298)
What is ERIC?
The Electronic Registration Information Center
(NY bills S6173A/A7052B) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization created by and comprised of state election officials from around the United States. Founded in 2012, ERIC is funded and governed by states that choose to join. Read more about ERIC at https://ericstates.org/about/.
On January 8th, the NY Senate passed their 2024 Democracy package
Read the Senate Press Release here.
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Crimes of Voter Deception and Suppression S263 prohibits deceptive practices and the suppression of voters, and increases penalties for violations of the elective franchise.
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Democracy Preservation Act S371 would ban political spending by foreign-influenced business entities in New York’s state and local elections.
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Refreshments at the polls S616 allows snacks and non-alcoholic drinks to be given to voters waiting in line at the polls.
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Doctor John L. Flateau Voting and Elections Database and Academic Center of New York Act S657A establishes a New York voting and elections database and an academic center to maintain a statewide database of voting and election data and serve as a research hub.
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Political Committee Public Website Transparency S6675 requires public-facing websites that are operated by political committees to include “paid for by” language.
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Absentee Ballot Drop-off Box Locations S610 allows local Boards of Elections to establish absentee ballot drop-off locations to provide voters with a convenient alternative option to submit their absentee ballots.
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Protecting Constitutional Rights S1460 rescinds calls for a constitutional convention to protect all existing constitutional rights.
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Portable Polling Locations S242 amends the election law to allow counties the option to establish portable polling places for early voting.
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Ballot Order S5943 modifies the order in which candidates appear on the ballot in descending order based on the size of the electorate and requires certain federal offices to be listed before state, county, and local offices.
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Multistate Voter List Maintenance Organizations S6173B authorizes the state board of elections to join a multistate voter list maintenance organization such as the Electronic Registration Information Center also known as ERIC.