I believe New York voters deserve better election laws. Many other states have early voting, automatic voter registration, same-day registration, and even vote-by-mail.
New York has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country, and some of the lowest voter participation rates. These restrictive laws make it particularly hard for people of modest means to participate in elections. Easy Elections laws have passed in the Assembly, but have been blocked for years from coming up for a vote in the Senate.
The fact that early voting failed to pass yet again in this year's budget is an indictment of our political system. 37 states have passed early voting; New York should not be vying for last place in promoting participation in our democracy.