ALBANY, NY – New York State’s General Election will take place in about two weeks.
And this year there are 5 statewide ballot proposals.
NewsChannel 34’s Corina Cappabianca breaks them down and has more on the process.
While other states in the country may have citizen referendums to change their constitutions, in New York State we have a legislative process.
((Jennifer Wilson, League of Women Voters of New York State Deputy Director))
Essentially the legislature has to pass statutory language to amend the state constitution. It has to pass twice with a statewide election in the middle and then after it’s passed twice it will go on the ballot.
Jennifer Wilson with the League of Women Voters of New York State says the Attorney General can also give input
((Jennifer Wilson, League of Women Voters of New York State Deputy Director))
The Attorney General will make edits to the actual ballot question language to make sure it’s easy to understand and voters can actually have an idea of what’s actually in the amendment.
If voters approve by at least 50 percent, the proposal is added to the state constitution the following year in January.
This year there are 5 questions voters will have the chance to answer.
((Sarah Goff, Common Cause New York Deputy Director))
If we have them, and it’s not every year, it’s between two to four. They do tend to clump them together so we’re not voting on random ballot proposals every year. So this feels normal.
The ballot proposals include:
-Amending the Apportionment and Redistricting Process
-Right to Clean Air, Clean Water, and a Healthful Environment
-Eliminating Ten-Day-Advance Voter Registration Requirement
-Authorizing No-Excuse Absentee Ballot Voting
-And, Increasing the Jurisdiction of the New York City Civil Court
((Jennifer Wilson, League of Women Voters of New York State Deputy Director))
Proposal Five does apply to the entire state even though it’s New York City specific.
Early Voting begins on Saturday, October 23rd and ends on Halloween.
Election Day is November 2nd.
