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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"They are picking a piece of voting technology that has been roundly criticized across the country and that is insecure," said Susan Lerner of Common Cause.
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Advocates for early voting, including Common Cause-NY, said Wednesday the state needs to provide $25 million to $30 million in the $175 billion budget to implement early voting and avoid having the full cost paid by local property taxpayers. The New York State Association of Counties estimates that cost for implementing the system at $7 million to $10 million, and electronic poll books will cost another $27 million to $30 million.
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“Ideally there shouldn’t be fundraisers during budget negotiations or during the time the Legislature is in session,” said Susan Lerner, director of NY Common Cause.
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Common Cause New York Executive Director Susan Lerner said the lobbying threshold proposal “makes no sense” and that New York needs “a governor who is willing to be a leader in encouraging civic engagement instead of discouraging” it.
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Nearly a quarter of state lawmakers could be forced to give up their outside employment or divest from their businesses before the end of the year if they want to hold on to their seats, according to a new analysis by the good government group Common Cause New York.
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New York City is particularly well-suited to a ranked-choice voting system, argued Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, since voters tend to favor Democrats over Republicans by a wide margin, and where many Democrats and few Republicans run.
Press Release
Let New Yorkers rank their candidates: It’s long past time to overhaul the way elections work
Yesterday, in one of the most crowded races in New York City history, Jumaane Williams won his campaign for Public Advocate against 16 other candidates with 33% of the vote. That’s right. A tiny fraction of New Yorkers — only 8.6% of active voters — turned out to elect the second most powerful politician in the city, and the victor didn’ t come close to a majority.
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"It is absolutely unimaginable that the people who are running our elections do not understand that their job is to help voters, and that they should be grateful for the assistance of New York City, which is the government for all New Yorkers," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York, during the rally.
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“This is a rogue agency,” said Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, which has repeatedly sued the City Board of Elections on behalf of voters to improve the agency’s operations.
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Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY and a founding member of the Let NY Vote coalition, urged the state Legislature to include funding for early voting in their budget proposals.
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A misleadingly-named Good Government and Ethics Reform law proposed by Cuomo in his executive budget includes a provision in Part R that would reduce the threshold of money allowed to be spent on advocacy work from $5,000 to $500 before triggering the need to register as a lobbyist.
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Election reform advocates received help from actress and activist Piper Perabo to urge Gov. Andrew Cuomo to include funding for early voting in his state budget proposal.