In ‘Deep Blue’ New York, Voters Reject Democrats’ Push for Election Changes

In one of the bluest states in the nation, voters soundly rejected proposed changes to election law that congressional Democrats are trying to impose nationally. 

New York state voters voted “no” on Democrat-supported amendments to the state Constitution, pitched as “voting rights” measures, that would have expanded absentee voting, allowed same-day voter registration, and changed the rules on drawing legislative districts. 

Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives this year have passed four bills that were variations of their initial bill, HR 1, dubbed the “For the People Act.” The measures would ban most state voter ID laws, allow same-day voter registration, expand ballot harvesting, and require unelected commissions instead of elected legislators to draw congressional districts. 

Already, New York is among 15 states that don’t have laws requiring voters to show identification at the polls. The other measures rejected by state voters, however, would have moved the Empire State even closer to the vision laid out in national Democrats’ HR 1.