I’m trying to enjoy my weekends, get some sleep, and not en…

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)

GA ran screaming in the opposite direction. After making some strides to expand voting opportunities, GA saw record Black turnout in November and January immediately responded with a bunch of unjustifiable restrictions aimed at reducing opportunities for Black voters. (6/9)

So why not sue NY over early voting and no-excuse absentee ballots? We don’t have to. The NY Legislature is working with civil rights groups to continue reforms. If the GA legislature fixed its unjustifiable new restrictions, Black voters wouldn’t have to go to the courts. (7/9)

In a functioning democracy, the government’s elected branches should enable voting rather than suppressing votes because greater participation builds public confidence in democracy, which increases participation. A virtuous cycle with which NY is finally engaging. (8/9)

The groups and businesses putting pressure on the GA and TX legislatures to repeal their voter suppression laws are strengthening the foundation of democracy and encouraging racial justice. We’ll keep working to hold NYS account for doing the same here. (9/9)

Oh, and anyone saying NY law prohibits folks from giving water to voters on line at the polls hasn't read NY Election Law s.17-140, which expressly allows anonymous give-aways of food or water with a value of less $1 (e.g., bottles of water or snacks bought in bulk) (10/bonus)

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)

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