New Yorkers for Inclusive Democracy, a new coalition, on Feb. 7 launched a campaign to push state lawmakers to protect the voting rights of New Yorkers in the face of the Trump Administration’s onslaught of attacks, particularly against Black, Latine and immigrant New Yorkers.
Coalition members called on the governor and state legislature to pass key voting rights measures, including enhanced automatic voter registration, voting rights for people held in detention and increased voter outreach efforts by state agencies to give the power of the ballot to unregistered low-income New Yorkers to be included in the state’s democracy, according to a press release.
“The new Trump Administration has signaled that they are going to be targeting our communities, and we need to use every tool to stand up in response - including our democracy and elections system," said Chris Alexander, executive director of the New York State NAACP chapter. "By ensuring that 1 million New Yorkers of color are finally part of our democracy, protecting our most vulnerable New Yorkers whose voting rights have historically been undercut, and ensuring that our key government agencies are doing their part to register voters, we can make sure our communities’ voting rights are fully Trump-proofed and protected."
The coalition is anticipating that the Trump administration will make sustained attacks on our elections systems – particularly impacting New York's communities of color. The new administration has already rescinded an executive order that instructed federal agencies to make voting registration information available to voters. New Yorkers for Inclusive Democracy are supporting Enhanced Automatic Voter Registration (S88), the Democracy During Detention Act (S440/A2121) and additional state funding for voter outreach to defend our democracy and be a national leader.
“In light of the daily onslaught of news outlining the many ways that this nation’s democracy is being intentionally undermined, it is imperative that New York elected officials take steps to enhance our access to the ballot and to protect our right to vote,” said Lurie Daniel Favors, executive director of the Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College. "Now, more than ever, we call on our electeds to be proactive and ensure New York voters are protected from those who seek to silence our voice."
Voting is a fundamental right and yet the mere possession of this right does not guarantee its accessibility, according to Jan Combopiano, an executive committee member of Brooklyn Voters Alliance.
"Citizens detained in New York state jails—predominantly Black or brown—face severe obstacles in exercising their voting rights, constituting a form of voter suppression through procedural means,” Combopiano said.
Coaltion members include NAACP, New York Immigration Coalition, Faith in New York, Generation Vote, Center for Law and Social Justice at Medgar Evers College, Citizen Action of New York, Make the Road New York, MinKwon Center for Community Action, United Neighborhood Houses, Brooklyn Voters Alliance, VoteEarlyNY, state Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, state Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris and state Senator Kristen Gonzalez.
