VOTING AND ELECTION REFORM
The Huddle works to improve New York and federal election laws to enfranchise voters and make voting easier and more secure.
To choose what legislation and actions to take, the Huddle follows the lead of several voting rights and election reform organizations, such as Let NY Vote coalition.
What passed during
2025 NY legislative session
It was not a good session for moving forward with election reform in New York. In particular, many priority bills and bills in the Senate Democratic Majority Package were not even considered by the Assembly Election Law Committee, the first step in going to the floor for a vote.
Bills introduced in 2025 do not have to be re-introduced; in other words, we don't have to start over. That means that the list of priority bills will continue into 2026.
Signed into law in 2025
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Joining Multi-State Voter List Maintenance Organization (ERIC bill) (Let NY Vote and Dem Majority priority bill)
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Split shifts for election inspectors or poll clerks (Let NY Vote priority bill)
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Paid for by Language: political committees have to add "paid for by" language (Dem Majority priority bill)
Voting Systems
There are good voting systems and bad ones.
The ES&S ExpressVote XL is a bad one.
Please read our position paper: Opposition of the Bethlehem Huddle to the ExpressVote XL (PDF).
Currently, Albany and Schenectady Counties use aging voting system from ES&S. This has served voters well, but it is time to replace this voting system. We are happy to report that both county Boards of Elections have decided, for practical reasons, to continue using paper ballots!
Let NY Vote 2026 Priority Legislation
Go to the Legislation Tracker and click on the "Election reform" table for details on the bills.
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Enacts the voting integrity and verification act of New York (VIVA NY) (S7116/A62887) See the Huddle's memo of support memo and the one-page information sheet below.
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Democracy During Detention Act (establishes the election infrastructure that makes voting accessible for all those eligible to vote who are detained in jails) (S6875/A9612)
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Deter frivolous challenges to voter qualifications (S3233/A6354)
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Move Local Elections to Even Years (S5851/A7369)
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Same Day Voter Registration (S5751/A2162)
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Student Voter Empowerment Act expands civic engagement practices for students (S2056/A3954)
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Time Extender for Polling Place Disruptions (S4602A/A5846A)
The Huddle supports
NY Voting Integrity and Verification Act
Learn more about the bill
S7116 (Cleare) / A6287 (Cunningham)
Position paper: BMV Huddle supports VIVA NY