The Chairman of the Suffolk County Republican Committee, Jesse Garcia, hosted New York State Chairman Nick Langworthy at SCGOP Headquarters in Medford this past week to urge voters to “Just Say NO!” on November 2nd. Langworthy was joined by town, county and state representatives from across Long Island to condemn Democrat lawmakers on the state level for their attempts to change voting laws in the New York State Constitution.
Five proposals will be on the ballot on Election Day, November 2. All five proposals will completely change how voting happens in New York State, opening the door for increased voter fraud, drastic industry regulations that would stifle development, and allow single-party bias gerrymandering.
“These propositions are the ultimate powergrab by self-serving Hochul-Cuomo Democrats in Albany. They can’t win elections at the ballot box or based on their records or policies, so what they’re doing is trying to fix the elections for generations to come and we’re here to say in one voice, we will not let that happen,” said Garcia.
Ballot Question #1: Amending the Apportionment and Redistricting Process
This proposed constitutional amendment would freeze the number of state senators at 63, amend the process for counting the state’s population, delete certain provisions that violate the United States Constitution, repeal and amend certain requirements for the appointment of the co-executive directors of the redistricting commission and amend the manner of drawing district lines for congressional and state legislative offices. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
Proposal One puts a lot at stake concerning voter integrity and fairness in redistricting. In 2014, the residents of New York voted to change the state Constitution and implement an independent redistricting commission to draw the legislative and congressional district lines, protect minority voting rights and communities of interest, assure extensive public participation in development of proposed district lines, and establish voting rules so that both parties fully participate in the decision making process.
The League of Women Voters of New York is urging voters to vote “no” on the measure, describing it as “a rollback to recent redistricting reforms that would weaken the role of the minority party in the Commission and legislative approval of the plans.”
If this proposition passes, the Independent Redistricting Commission would no longer need bipartisan support. If majority consensus cannot be reached, there would only need to be a 60% vote requirement in both houses; right now that window is 67%. This would basically allow the party in power to rubber stamp whichever gerrymandering plans they want.
“It is absurd that the Democrat party wants to co-op and strip independence and strip authority away from an independent redistricting process that has never been used yet,” Chairman Langworthy said. “They want to co-opt that process and they’re using our constitutional amendment process to do that, in the middle of redistricting. They ought to be ashamed of themselves for even going there. It’s brazen.”
Ballot Question #2: The Right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment
The proposed amendment to Article 1 of the New York Constitution would establish the right of each person to clean air and water and a healthful environment. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
Though appearing innocuous and environmentally conscious on first take, Proposition 2 is dangerous. The language is vague and leaves much to interpretation from the courts. An ambiguous amendment like this has potential to decimate a multitude of industries in the state of New York. “Clean air, clean water and a healthful environment. That sounds great, but in my opinion,” said Assemblywoman Jodi Giglio, “it’s the Green New Deal, it’s Build Back Better, it’s take your tax dollars and do away with fossil fuels and do away with gas.”
“Aren’t we all for clean air and clean water?” state GOP chairman Nick Langworthy asked rhetorically. “This is an unnecessary change to our constitution and it strikes me that this is a boondoggle for trial lawyers.”
Both the New York State Business Council and the National Federation of Independent Business are asking voters to “Vote NO” on question #2. “It’s very unclear to us what this proposed constitutional amendment would achieve that’s not already achieved or achievable under the New York state constitution, New York state statutes, federal statutes, state regulations or federal regulations,” the Business Council’s Ken Pokalsky stated.
Ballot Question #3: Eliminating Ten-Day-Advance Voter Registration Requirement
The proposed amendment would delete the current requirement in Article II, S 5 that a citizen be registered to vote at least ten days before an election and would allow the legislature to enact laws permitting a citizen to register to vote less than 10 days before the election. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
Proposition 3 will allow unregistered voters to register to vote less than 10 days before the election. New York State does not require ID to vote and therefore there is no method of controlling or checking for fraudulent behavior. Garcia said, “Same day voter registration will result in people bussing voters from different parts of the county here and uncertified elections moving forward.” Voter integrity is at risk with this amendment.
“I don’t think that a 10-day timeline is so onerous that it’s causing people not to vote. My worry with same-day registration is that it could be open to shenanigans,” New York Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay noted in his opposition to ballot question #3. “Fraud has been raised, obviously. Without a timeline, it makes it a little easier for someone to register to vote and to change that vote. It’s always more difficult after the fact.”
Ballot Question #4: Authorizing No-Excuse Absentee Ballot Voting
The proposed amendment would delete from the current provision on absentee ballots the requirement that an absentee voter must be unable to appear at the polls by reason of absence from the country or illness or physical disability. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
The state Legislature passed a law in 2020, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed New Yorkers to request absentee ballots for the general election, if they were concerned they could contract the virus. The law was amended to allow a “no-excuse requirement.” Previously in New York State, in order to request a ballot, you were required to be away from your regular polling location on election day or have a medical excuse. The current law is in effect until January 1, 2022 but this amendment would extend this privilege indefinitely.
“Unchecked, unverified, no excuse absentee ballots are akin to stuffing the ballot box. We’ve seen that everywhere throughout the country in the 2020 election. Here in Suffolk County, sitting on the District Attorney’s desk for months upon months, are 850 examples of absentee ballots and applications that were received that the signatures were not the same as when they first signed up and applied to be a registered voter. And action has been taken. This is what the liberal democrats in Albany want to do, they want to steal the elections. They want to make sure these propositions, that they couldn’t get through in a constitutional convention, get through in a different forum,” stated Garcia.
Langworthy urges New Yorkers to “Just say NO” on proposition 4, unless there is a corresponding requirement for voter identification.
“I don’t think we have to expand mail-in voting any more than we have. You can basically vote for a month in the state of New York,” Langworthy said. “Mail-in voting leads to controversy,” he continued. “There were 70,000 people at the Buffalo Bills game on Sunday. There is no need to expand mail-in voting. That effort should also be defeated.”
Ballot Question #5: Increasing the Jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court
The proposed amendment would increase the New York City Civil Court’s jurisdiction by allowing it to hear and decide claims for up to $50,000 instead of the current jurisdictional limit of $25,000. Shall the proposed amendment be approved?
The final ballot question refers to jurisdiction of a court system outside of Long Island and beyond Suffolk County. Anything related to the judiciary is entwined within the constitution and requires an amendment to change it. This proposition has been put forward in years prior and was defeated then also.
A thorough examination of the propositions on the ballot in the 2021 election provides more than ample evidence that the Democrat-led government in Albany is attempting to change the New York State Constitution so dramatically that all fairness, integrity, and accountability associated with our voting system will be lost forever. These are fundamental changes to a system that currently assures equal access to the polls, bipartisan representation when deciding redistricting, verified and excused access to absentee ballots, and ten days of Early Voting.
These proposals are not about increasing voter turnout any more than they are about providing access for voters or protecting the environment. The questions on the 2021 ballot are simply a manipulative rigging of our electoral process. This is a well-schemed plot to keep Democrats in power for decades.
