Press Release
Charter Review Commission Must Delay Ballot Proposals Due to Rushed Process
Given historically quick timeline, expansive scope of Commission's work, and lack of public input, Commission's proposals must wait until next year's ballot
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New York’s Early Voting Change Expected to Boost Turnout
State lawmakers enacted early voting in their last legislative session, delivering a victory to open-government advocates such as Common Cause Executive Director Susan Lerner, who have long pushed for the change... The new system will help election officials work out bugs and help people with rigid schedules, Ms. Lerner said. “It takes the stress off Election Day,” she added.
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Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Mayor Bill de Blasio have called on King to resign while Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer and Susan Lerner, head of good government group Common Cause, have called on the body to go further and expel King.
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“[It] makes our elections more fair. It helps voters hold politicians accountable to all communities, and it saves taxpayers money and voters time,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, a nonpartisan grassroots organization that led the push to get RCV on New York City’s ballot.
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Plaintiffs in the case include the New York Immigration Coalition, Common Cause/New York, Community Voices Heard and Citizen Action of New York. On Friday, the advocates were represented in court by attorney Cameron Kistler and Farbod Faraji.
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“JCOPE appears to be willfully misinterpreting the lobbying law, which as written, clearly should not apply to Ms. Sullivan or any private individual who takes it upon herself to petition her government,” Lerner said. “This is an abuse of power that smacks of retaliation, and violates our fundamental democratic rights. A person who is not retained to advocate on behalf of another entity is not a lobbyist, by definition under the New York Lobbying Act. It’s clear that Ms. Sullivan’s passion, not a paycheck, is what’s driving her...
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“It’s a way to help voters make sense of crowded candidate fields which, luckily, we have a lot of here in New York City because of our excellent campaign-finance system,” Lerner said. “We believe that Ranked-Choice Voting, which allows you to rank up to your five preferred candidates, but to vote for only one if that’s what you prefer to do, is really well suited for our election context here in New York City.”
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There are 5 consequential questions on the New York City ballot this fall, each of which poses changes to city elections or governance for "yes" or "no" responses from voters. Two leading government reform experts -- Susan Lerner of Common Cause NY and Rachel Bloom of Citizens Union -- joined the podcast to discuss each of the five ballot questions and whether voters should approve or disapprove them.
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Voters will have multiple days to cast their ballots instead of just one, but Susan Lerner, of Common Cause of New York, doesn't necessarily expect higher turnout. She says that implementing the change this year is more about “the ability for people to vote at their own chosen time.” With the presidential election next year, Lerner thinks this is a good time to work out the kinks and make sure everything will be smooth sailing in 2020. “Really need to get early voting right this year so that we can improve it and have it really ready to...
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“Early voting is a game-changer for New Yorkers who no longer have to choose between getting to work on time or exercising their democratic rights," Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY and the co-founder of Let NY Vote, said at a Washington Square Park rally to drum up interest. "We hope every New York voter will join us and vote early.”
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The case, which is led by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and Common Cause New York, together with pro bono law firm Dechert LLP and LatinoJustice PRLDEF, is being heard at a federal courthouse in Manhattan by Judge Allison J. Nathan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
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“Voters who have registered, who have voted previously should not be removed from the voter rolls simply because something has happened to a piece of mail,” said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. “The federal statute really requires more time before somebody can be removed from the active rolls,” she added.
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"Early voting is a game changer for New Yorkers who no longer have to choose between getting to work on time or exercising their democratic rights," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY and co-founder of Let NY Vote.