Gotham Gazette

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Ballot questions 2021

Ballot questions 2021

  • Failure of Ballot Questions Halts New York's Three-Year Expansion of Voting

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    An Albany rally for voting reform (photo: Senator Michael Gianaris)


    When New Yorkers voted down two state constitutional amendments this fall that would make it easier to vote they put a stunning stop to a three-year deluge of major statewide election reform.

    Voting rights advocates and Democratic state lawmakers are licking their wounds and looking ahead to the next legislative session, beginning in January, with a list of changes to election rules and operations, including some of the measures that just failed.

    Had

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  • WATCH: What's Next After New Yorkers Voted on 5 State Constitutional Amendment Ballot Questions

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    Voter registration (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    After voters across New York State voted on five ballot proposals for potential state consitutional amendments, two were approved and three were disapproved. All five measures dealing with a variety of issues — from legislative redistricting to enviromental protections to voting rights — were on the 2021 general election ballot because they were proposed state constitutional amendments that had been passed by two consecutive classes of the State Legislature.

    In something of a

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  • Democrats Defeat Themselves on Expansion of Vote by Mail, A Pro-Democracy Measure

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    Absentee ballot drop-box (photo: @BKVoters)


    Three proposed amendments to the New York State Constitution, two on expanding voting rights and one on legislative redistricting reform, were defeated by the voters in this year’s general election. Two other ballot proposals were passed. In order to appear on the ballot for voters to approve or disapprove, all five proposed amendments had to pass two consecutive classes of the state Legislature.

    We are still awaiting the full counting of many thousands of absentee ballots, but preliminary numbers

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  • Constitutional Amendments: New York Voters Approve New Environmental Rights, Disapprove Voting and Redistricting Reforms

    New York Voters Approve 5 Constitutional Amendments to Alter Redistricting, Expand Voting Rights, Ensure Clean Air and Water

    Voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    With more than 100,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted, New York voters thus far appear to have approved two state constitutional amendments on the general election ballot and voted down three others. It is unlikely that the mail-in ballots will be enough to sway some or all of the outcomes, setting the stage for only two of the five ballot referendums to pass, though it is not

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  • WATCH: Get Ready to Vote on the 5 Ballot Questions

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    Voters at the voting booth (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    There are five yes or no questions on the 2021 general election ballot across New York, asking voters to approve or disapprove changes to the state constitution. All the items on the ballot have been passed by two successive classes of the State Legislature and now go to the voters. They includes measures related to legislative redistricting, voting, clean air and water, and more.

    Four experts joined host Ben Max for a Manhattan Neighborhood Network

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  • Vote Yes on Ballot Questions to Improve Redistricting and Voting Rights

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    Voters at the polls (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    In New York, we are just weeks away from going to the polls to vote in the general election. You may know that we will vote for various important positions in our local government, such as the mayor of New York City and county executives outside of the Big Apple. You may not know that, across the state, we will also be voting on critical ballot questions. To strengthen democracy in our state, it’s important that you vote “yes” on three key questions to reform the

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