I’m trying to enjoy my weekends, get some sleep, and not engage with Twitter because we've got a baby due in 4 weeks, but then I hear about folks trying to justify GA's racist voter suppression law by pointing to NY's bad voting laws and my job is NY voting rights, so... (1/9)
Thanks for noticing that NY’s voting laws are bad! Like GA, many of NY’s restrictions on the right to vote are rooted in racism and xenophobia and need to change. “So, why aren’t you suing NY over early voting and no-excuse absentee balloting right now?” Glad you asked. (2/9)
Unlike GA, the NYS legislature has been removing longstanding racist, xenophobic barriers to the ballot since 2019. Why so recently? Before 2019, a gerrymander and a deal made by Gov. Cuomo gave the NYS Senate to the GOP, which blocked all efforts to fix voting in NY. (3/9)
Since 2019, among other important reforms, NY has enacted early voting and automatic voter reg, and is in the process of amending its constitution to enable no-excuse absentee ballots and election-day registration. Those amendments will be ratified by the voters this year. (4/9)
When Black and Brown voter turnout increased in 2020, NY didn’t roll back those reforms. In fact, the state continued to expand opportunities to vote. Is NY law perfect yet? No, but it takes time to undo retrograde laws and practices and NY’s going in the right direction. (5/9)