NY State Senate Passes Early Voting

BROOKLYN — The new Democratic majority voted 48-13 in favor of early voting on Monday, a bill newly elected State Sen. Zellnor Myrie sponsored.

“Voting is the right that protects all other rights, yet too many New Yorkers struggle to get to the ballot box because of family and work responsibilities or other barriers,” said Myrie. “We need to give people the opportunity to vote when they have the most time, and that starts with early voting.”

According to the bill S1102, New Yorkers will be able to vote ten days ahead of the primary or general election up until the second day prior to the election. That means voters will have until the Sunday before the typical Tuesday election to cast their vote early.

Larger cities will be required to have at least one early voting location per 50,000 registered voters. Staffing should be equally divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Polling sites would open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm with at least one polling location open until 8:00 pm for at least two of those weekdays. There are weekend hours too, from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The bill also requires the Board of Elections to staff polling sites so that there waiting times do not exceed more than 30 minutes.

The local Boards of Elections would be responsible for disseminating the early voting information.

“While New York presents itself as a progressive state, we have some of the most regressive and anti-democratic voting laws in the country,” said Myrie. “Our voters gave us a mandate to take bold action to improve voting rights in New York, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do,” Myrie said.

Myrie, who serves as the State Senate’s Elections Committee Chair is a Brooklyn native and was elected to the seat, Nov. 6, 2018. The freshman state senator talked to Bklyner earlier this month about election reform and other initiatives he’s looking to pass.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will either sign or veto the bill. If signed, the law takes effect during the November general election.