Electoral reform in New York
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Electoral reform in New York refers to efforts to change the voting and election laws in New York State. In 2021, the New York State Legislature asked New York state voters their opinion through referendums on ballot proposals, all of which were denied by voters.
Alternate voting systems
In a 1936 referendum, voters in New York City voted in favour of the adoption of the single transferable vote method of proportional representation. The adoption of STV produced more balanced representation.
In the election immediately preceding STV's adoption, the Democrats won 95.3% of the seats on the Board of Aldermen with only 66.5% of the vote. In 1941, proportional representation gave the Democrats 65.5% of the seats on 64% of the vote, with the Republicans and three smaller parties also gaining seats in proportion to their voting strength.[1]
PR was repealed after the 1947 election. Despite NYC thereafter not using proportional representation, and thus small parties losing the ability to elect minority representation, the
As of 2021, the primaries for NY City mayoral candidates are being conducted using ranked-choice voting (Instant-runoff voting).[2]
Expansion of the electorate
New York
Allocation of electoral votes
In both 2006 and 2007, bills were introduced in the
Ballot access
Reformers would like to see the ballot access laws loosened.
Currently, a new party or independent candidate may gain ballot access for one election by collecting a set number of petition signatures for each office (or 5 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent election in the jurisdiction, if that is lower). A new party that wins 130,000 votes or 2% of the vote in the previous
2021 ballot proposals
During the
The results were as follows:[5][6][7]
Question | For | Against | Blank | Void | Total votes | Registered voters | Turnout | Result | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
Proposal 1: Make Various Changes to Redistricting Process | 1,202,106 | 38.42% | 1,518,442 | 48.53% | 406,974 | 13.01% | 1,236 | 0.04% | 3,128,758 | 12,318,347 | 25.399% | Rejected |
Proposal 3: Allow Legislature to Pass Same-Day Voter Registration | 1,179,674 | 37.67% | 1,608,177 | 51.35% | 342,222 | 10.93% | 1,831 | 0.06% | 3,131,904 | 25.424% | Rejected | |
Proposal 4: Allow Legislature to Pass No-Excuse Absentee Voting | 1,208,664 | 38.60% | 1,568,895 | 50.10% | 352,129 | 11.24% | 1,841 | 0.06% | 3,131,529 | 25.421% | Rejected |
See also
References
- ^ A Brief History of Full Representation in the United States, Douglas J. Amy, Department of Politics, Mount Holyoke College, Representation 34, number 1 (Winter 1996/7).
- ^ https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/06/29/more-u-s-locations-experimenting-with-alternative-voting-systems/
- ^ Absentee Voting, Board of Elections in the City of New York.
- ^ "Governor Cuomo Signs Legislation Adding New York State to the National Popular Vote Compact". Retrieved 12 August 2015.
- ^ a b "NYS Board of Elections Unofficial Election Night Results". NY State Board of Elections. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ a b "New York Election Results". The New York Times. November 2, 2021. Retrieved November 9, 2021.
- ^ a b "New York 2021 ballot measures". Ballotpedia. Retrieved November 9, 2021.