Out to vote (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

The likelihood of Albany Democrats getting failed elections reforms back on the ballot in the next two years is dwindling as the end of the state legislative session approaches.

Despite promising to get back on the horse immediately after a surprising referendum defeat last November, Democrats with supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature do not appear to have reintroduced proposed state constitutional amendments to establish same-day voter registration and universal absentee voting. State legislators could still introduce and pass them before the scheduled end of session this week – but time is running out. 

Those are among a wide range of voting-related legislation lawmakers are considering with the final day of session. The last session day is scheduled for June 2 though lawmakers can be called back through the rest of the year.

Lawmakers have already enacted a number of changes this year, including an extension of the temporary no-excuse absentee voting in place since the onset of the pandemic, prepaid postage for absentee ballots, and poll sites on certain college campuses.

A number of other bills are awaiting Governor Kathy Hochul's signature, including one to preserve eligible votes on rejected affidavit ballots. Another to shorten the voter registration deadline to 10 days before an election appears poised to pass both houses and be signed by the governor. Hochul, a Democrat, championed both of these in her State of the State agenda in January.

Another concept she supported, voter protection legislation modeled on the federal Voting Rights Act, appears to have stalled in the Assembly. Hochul has never explicitly backed the bill legislators have advanced, which was set to pass the State Senate on Tuesday.

"Governor Hochul has taken bold action to expand voting rights and is committed to making sure New York State will continue to be a national leader on voting rights protections," wrote Avi Small, a spokesperson for the governor, in an email.

Democrats, including state party chair Jay Jacobs, backed a late-stage push to change local elections to even years in line with federal and state elections to raise voter turnout. Republicans blasted the proposal, which could disrupt voting patterns in a state where they are significantly outnumbered. The bill appears to be shelved for this year.

Lawmakers and election reformers are pushing a number of other bills they hope to pass in the waning days of session.

Those include changes to the way elections are administered at the New York City and county levels, further adjustments to absentee voting, rules for siting polling places, voting rights for incarcerated people, and a ban on touch-screen voting machines, among many others. Like the New York Voting Rights Act, a number of bills have advanced in the Senate but not the Assembly, including a host of board of elections reforms, and in some cases in the Assembly but not the Senate.

State Constitutional Amendments
Lawmakers have not introduced two state constitutional amendments that would make voting easier after New York voters rejected them in ballot referenda last fall. The amendments would allow for same-day voter registration and universal absentee voting. After the surprising defeat Democrats promised to begin the multi-year amendment cycle again when they returned to Albany.

State constitutional amendments must pass in consecutive legislative sessions, which are two years, and go before voters before going into effect. If Democrats fail to pass the amendments in this session, they will have to wait until 2025 at the earliest to try their luck again with voters because of the legislative cycle.

With same-day registration, lawmakers are looking at what some consider the next best option: lowering the voter registration deadline to the 10 days before polls close – the shortest period allowed in the state constitution – from the current 25 days before an election. Hochul supported changing the deadline in her State of the State policy agenda released in January. A bill has advanced out of the election committees in both chambers.

Lawmakers acted quickly in January to extend the temporary statute that authorizes universal absentee voting due to the risk of COVID-19. They also passed a similar bill to allow universal absentee voting in school district elections in 2022. The state budget included $4 million for postage on absentee ballots and ballot applications, the first state funding since the June 2020 primaries.

New York Voting Rights Act

On Tuesday, the State Senate passed a broad voter-protection bill intended to fill holes in the federal Voting Rights Act. This session was the first time lawmakers voted on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York since it was introduced in 2020. It remains for the Assembly election law committee to advance, where there appears to be little appetite for the bill for reasons that are unclear. While Governor Kathy Hochul called for a state-level Voting Rights Act in her State of the State agenda, she has not publicly supported the bill.

"Governor Hochul will review this legislation if it passes both houses of the legislature," wrote Small, Hochul's spokesperson. Spokespeople for the Assembly Democratic majority have repeatedly declined to comment on the legislation’s status in that chamber.

The New York Voting Rights Act would give the state Attorney General the ability to review and reject proposed changes to voting policy in areas with a history of voter suppression. Before provisions of the federal VRA were stripped away by the U.S. Supreme Court, a similar "preclearance" authority applied to the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Manhattan

The bill requires more expansive interpretation, protections against voter intimidation and deception, and requirements to track metrics that would indicate potential rights violations. The legislation would also lower barriers to suing administrators for violating the voting rights of racial, ethnic, or linguistic groups.

‘Wrong Church’
Both houses of the Legislature passed a bill in May that would help preserve votes when a voter casts an affidavit ballot outside their assigned poll site. It now awaits Hochul's signature.

The legislation would eliminate a provision of election law known as "wrong church," which results in thousands of ballots being tossed each year.

If a voter attempts to vote in a polling place that is not their own, poll workers are supposed to direct them to the correct site. That doesn't always happen. Often when a voter's name doesn't appear on the rolls, they are instead handed a provisional affidavit ballot to cast a vote – including in down-ballot local races in which they may be ineligible to vote. Those entire ballots ultimately get tossed – almost always unbeknownst to the voter who believed they were voting in the right place – including for the top-of-ballot races the voter would have been eligible for had they been at the right poll site.

The legislation that passed, would allow those top-of-ballot votes (like for president or governor) to count as long as the voter's Assembly district is on the ballot, even if they are at the wrong site and handed an affidavit ballot. The Senate's version of the bill was originally broader, applying to all poll sites in the voter’s county, rather than Assembly district. The passed bill also has a later start date than the Senate's original proposal, becoming effective after this year's general election rather than before.

Advocates applauded the move as an incremental step forward. "This might not be the broadest bill we wanted but we think it achieves a lot of the protection that we wanted," said Jarret Berg, an election lawyer and co-founder of the advocacy group VoterEarlyNY, who has been working with lawmakers to pass the legislation. "We obviously don't know how much but by passing a law like this we can watch it for the next federal cycle."

Other Absentee Voting Bills
A bill to allow local boards of elections to designate absentee ballot drop-off locations passed the Senate in January but remains in committee in the Assembly. The legislation was first introduced in 2020 after concerns about the timely delivery of ballots through the U.S. Postal Service.

Another bill would require administrators to count ballots where a voter's intent is "unambiguous" even if there are other stray marks on the paper, which often result in ballots being thrown out. That bill passed the Senate in January and the Assembly in May. It still needs the governor's signature to be enacted. Time is running out for it to apply to the June primaries for statewide offices and Assembly seats.

Last December, Governor Hochul signed legislation to establish a digital application system to request absentee ballots and another online system to track cast absentee ballots. Hochul also enacted a bill to expedite the counting of absentee, military, and affidavit ballots.

Poll-Site Location
The Hochul administration has enacted two laws intended to increase the number and convenience of poll sites and boost voter turnout.

The "Make Voting Easy Act," signed in December, requires local boards of elections to designate at least one early voting poll site for every 30,000 registered voters in a county. In April, lawmakers also enacted legislation through the state budget that will require poll sites on many college campuses beginning in November.

Other legislation to enact so-called "portable" early voting locations passed the Senate in January and has been stuck in committee in the Assembly. The legislation would allow local elections boards to open pop-up early voting sites for a minimum of three consecutive days in order to increase access in hard-to-reach areas. The portable sites cannot replace existing polling places.

Every county outside New York City allows voters to cast ballots at any early voting site within their borders. In New York City, residents can only vote at assigned sites, sometimes fairly distant from their home or work. Advocates want to see the city Board of Elections move to an unassigned vote center model like other counties have. While there are no proposed bills to require this, the current law mandates administrators establish early vote centers if it is technically feasible, according to Berg of VoteEarlyNY. That question has not been considered by election commissioners since early voting first began in 2019, Berg said.

Election Administration and Board of Elections Professionalization
Each year, New York's elections are marred by technical errors and administrative blunders that disenfranchise voters and dash faith in elections. Voting rights advocates blame Board of Elections' explicitly bipartisan framework that gives party leaders power to make appointments, often rewarding loyalty at the expense of professionalism.

A number of bills have been introduced to improve election administration standards. Few deal with the partisanship underpinning, which is partially a matter of the state constitution.

Legislation on the table include bills that would set standard qualifications for Board of Elections commissioners and employees in New York City and beyond, require more training for commissioners, staff, and poll workers, and make local commissioners more accountable to the public and state regulators. While many bills have seen engagement in the Senate, the Assembly has been less enthusiastic to take them up.

"New Yorkers shouldn’t have to wait for another headline-grabbing BOE blunder to get their election system fixed,” said Ben Weinberg, policy director at the good government group Citizens Union.

"The Senate has done an excellent job moving these reforms forward, and lawmakers in both houses should pass them this session," he said.

Getting the most attention is a bill sponsored by Senator Liz Krueger and Assemblymember Nily Rozic, two New York City Democrats, that would inject a number of these components into the New York City Board of Elections, one of the country's most notorious boards. While it doesn't change the bipartisan structure of the BOE, which would require a state constitutional amendment, the bill would set other professional standards and modify the makeup the board.

That includes reducing the number of commissioners from ten to two, while leaving them to be chosen by party leaders and confirmed by the New York City Council. It would more clearly delineate some of the duties of commissioners and key officers and require board members to meet certain qualifications, among other provisions.

The bill passed in the Senate on May 17. It has so far failed to gain traction in the Assembly where it remains in committee.

Rights Restoration
After the passage of a bill last year to restore the voting rights of people on parole, advocates are now looking at voting for people in prison and jail as the next frontier in enfranchising the disenfranchised.

A bill was introduced in 2019 to statutorily restore the vote to incarcerated people that advocates feared would be vulnerable to challenge in the courts. Last year, lawmakers drafted an amendment to insert that right directly into the state constitution. Advocates, like the Let New York Vote coalition, supported the amendment but it has garnered little attention this session.

Neither the amendment nor the 2019 bill have advanced out of committee. With days left in session, it is unlikely the amendment will pass in time to be considered for a second time in the next legislative session. If it doesn't, the soonest it could get on the ballot to be approved or rejected by voters is 2025.

Hybrid Voting Machines
Election reform groups areressing lawmakers to ban so-called "all-in-one" touchscreen voting machines, which they say are vulnerable to malfunction, confusion, and hacking. The machines, also known as hybrid voting machines, use a touchscreen to cast a vote and can either print and then scan a machine-marked ballot or submit the vote electronically.

Election security experts have raised concerns about the lack of accountability and integrity having a non-physical ballot would bring. Last year, the State Board of Elections denied certification of an all-in-one machine, the ExpressVote XL, which the New York City Board of Elections was seeking to use.

A bill to prohibit hybrid voting machines is expected to pass in the Senate this session, as it did last year. It has never been voted on in the Assembly. The bill has the support of advocates like the Let New York Vote coalition and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams.

"These hybrid voting machines are expensive, inaccessible, and risky, and we cannot allow them to be used in New York elections," Williams said in a statement. "Albany can pass the hybrid ban bill now before the summer elections, and it absolutely must."

"Our current system is already the current gold standard: voter-marked paper ballots and optical scanners," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause New York. "Any one-in-all voting machine would be a serious –and expensive – needless step backwards."

Passed the Senate, but not the Assembly
Seven other voting-related bills passed the Senate this year but have yet to move through the Assembly.

One would codify the right of voters to register in the district of a second home. Another would enact the Democracy Preservation Act, which would prohibit political contributions from corporations owned by foreign entities and nationals. A third would change the order candidates appear on the ballot to ensure candidates for executive office appear first, regardless of whether they are federal or state.

On Tuesday, the Senate passed four more bills that have not moved in the Assembly. They include the New York Voting Rights Act and a bill sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins that would make voter suppression and deception crimes and raise penalties for related offenses. The Senate also passed a bill to regulate and create a statewide database of public voting and elections data. The fourth would make interfering with elections electronically a misdemeanor offense. None of them have been advanced out of committee in the Assembly.

Passed the Assembly, Not the Senate
In May the Assembly passed three voting-related bills that have yet to cross the finish line in the Senate. The bills would allow for an additional day of voting during states of emergency; protect the confidentiality of voter registration information of victims of sexual violence; and extend eligibility for party positions to non-binary people.

Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for the Senate Democratic Majority, said Tuesday that the chamber was expected to pass the latter two bills but not the one related to voting during emergencies.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (photo: Suozzi's office)

As he runs for Governor of New York this year, U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi is offering his experience and approach as a “common sense Democrat” to voters in the fast-approaching primary. Suozzi, of Long Island, argues his more than two decades in elected office, including executive and legislative roles, record of accomplishment, and vision for the future of the state differentiate him from his opponents and demonstrate his ability to follow through on his campaign promises.

“Every politician says ‘I’m gonna do this, I’m gonna do that’,” said Suozzi, who represents New York’s 3rd congressional district covering parts of Long Island and Queens, in a recent appearance on the Max Politics podcast from Gotham Gazette. “I’ve got a record of 16 years as a chief executive in government and five-and-a-half years in Congress of delivering money back to the state of New York and getting things done.”

During the interview with Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max, Suozzi discussed his campaign, how he differentiates himself from his competitors, and a wide range of issues affecting New Yorkers including the baby formula shortage, reproductive rights, taxes and affordability, and the regional mass transit system.

Suozzi also reflected on his 2006 run for governor and how his loss that year to Eliot Spitzer has informed his current campaign. He addressed his personal finances and argued repeatedly that he would better serve New Yorkers than Hochul.

The Democratic primary for governor is scheduled to take place in June -- with early voting June 18-26 and primary day June 28. Suozzi is running against Governor Kathy Hochul, who took office less than a year ago after the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo, and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, who is running to the left of the more moderate Hochul and Suozzi. The congressman is courting many of the same voters Hochul is attempting to appeal to, and he is making a concerted effort to woo those further toward the middle and right of the political spectrum, especially on issues like crime and criminal justice reform.

New York’s political calendar has gotten messy after the decennial redistricting process went awry. Along with the statewide primaries, those for state Assembly seats will also be held in June. But the primaries for State Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives that were also supposed to be in June were court-ordered to move to August when Democrat-drawn legislative maps were ruled unconstitutional by a judge. Suozzi said on the podcast that a consolidated primary would save money and secure higher voter turnout, but he predicted Hochul would leave the dates unchanged in order to prevent Cuomo from having more time to enter the primary.

Suozzi commented on how, if elected, he would address hot button issues like the baby formula shortage and access to abortion in a post-Roe United States, pending a Supreme Court ruling that is expected in June and, based on a leak draft majority opinion, could overturn 50 years of reproductive rights precedent.

Suozzi said he would harness the state’s purchasing power to provide formula directly to New Yorkers. Discussing abortion, Suozzi said he would approach things similar to how Hochul has acted in the wake of the Supreme Court leak, but would put more emphasis on preventing unintended pregnancies by promoting education and contraception.

“We have to do everything we can to ensure that abortion remains safe, legal, and accessible in New York State,” he said.

On what he’s learned since his first run for governor in 2006, Suozzi said he better understands the inner workings of the press, relationships, legislation, and the bureaucracy, with deeper insights into the insider’s game of New York politics as well as much more government experience.

Suozzi, who trails Hochul in the polls and in fundraising by wide margins, outlined his strategy focused on talking directly to voters, including a series of telephone town halls with registered Democrats.

“I’m losing my voice as you can hear because I’ve been talking so much,” he said. He will have important opportunities in upcoming debates -- scheduled for June 7 and 16 -- to speak directly to voters while standing next to his opponents.

Throughout his campaign, Suozzi says he aims to communicate that he is a “common sense Democrat” who is “running on the issues that people care about” including crime, taxes and affordability, education, and government corruption, which he said he added to the list given that Hochul’s first pick for Lieutenant Governor, Brian Benjamin, resigned after being charged with public corruption from his time as a State Senator.

Suozzi attributes New York’s increase in net out-migration – more people leaving than arriving in the state – to crime and the high cost of living.

“When I was born, New York state had 45 members of Congress…Today we have 27 members of Congress, and it’s going down to 26 in January because of the new Census,” he said. “It’s not sustainable. We can’t survive this way.”

Suozzi said it is possible to “serve people better and save money in the process” by increasing state aid to localities, especially for education, while cutting property and income taxes.

Asked how he would cut costs in government programs without reducing important services or lowering workers’ wages, he emphasized his pro-union bona fides and referenced his previous work in Nassau County where, as county executive, he said he reduced the workforce through attrition, technology, and the consolidation of departments without cutting services or wages. He acknowledged he did raise taxes early on, but indicated the local economic and fiscal circumstances were far different than what the state is facing now.

When asked repeatedly, Suozzi did not note any specific improvement plans for the MTA, which runs the New York City subway and buses and the commuter rails, but said he would bring in “talented people” who “know how to get things done.” He said that as a member of Congress he does not have the staff or time to focus in on all the details of how the MTA is run to have a plan in place for better execution and efficiency at the state-run authority where the governor holds immense sway, but promised that as governor he would be able to use his management skills to make significant improvements to the agency that is notoriously underperforming and wasteful.

The key to providing more affordable housing options for New Yorkers is to increase supply, he said. Asked particularly about increasing housing around Long Island transit hubs to undo the suburbs’ significant lack of contribution to the state and metro region housing supply, Suozzi referenced the “cool downtowns” program he had implemented as Nassau county executive. He said he would revive and expand the program for suburban areas with more apartments near train stations to attract young renters and home-buyers.

Suozzi said he would also build more affordable housing units by offering tax incentives, limiting the rate of return to developers, and ensuring union workers are paid prevailing wages.

Toward the end of the discussion, Max asked Suozzi about his taxes and large stock portfolio. The Campaign Legal Center filed an ethics complaint against Suozzi in September for failing to disclose his stock trading activity, allegedly violating the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act. Suozzi has repeatedly said he did not know he needed to make additional disclosures beyond what he regularly did and that as soon as it was flagged he said he would start doing so.

Asked if he could guarantee New Yorkers he has never used his position to make gains in financial transactions (a form of insider trading), Suozzi said he could and took some offense to the question. He denied any involvement in the trades that his broker makes on his behalf. In fact, he said that the broker had recently made a trade he disagreed with but that it was the nature of the way he has set things up to avoid conflicts of interest.

He also said he would not release his tax returns before the June primary, but since his appearance on Max Politics, Suozzi reversed course, pledging to soon release his tax returns.

In making his closing argument on the podcast, Suozzi warned that if Hochul won the Democratic nomination she would lose in the general election.

“If Democrats want to keep New York state in Democratic hands, they should elect Tom Suozzi in the Democratic primary,” he said. “I’ll run [New York State] better, more effectively, more efficiently, and better for the taxpayers, with the people’s interest at heart.”

[LISTEN to the full conversation: Max Politics Podcast: Democrat Tom Suozzi on His Run for Governor]

Latino leaders at the Dominican Day parade (photo: William Alatriste/City Council)

Former New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Lucia Gomez, the political director of the New York City Central Labor Council, joined host Eli Valentin on this episode of the Latino Vote podcast to share insights on the recently-completed 2022 redistricting process in New York and what it may mean for Latino political power.

A rally for reproductive rights (photo: Don Pollard / Governor’s Office)

Momentum is building behind an Equal Rights Amendment to the New York State Constitution that would enshrine reproductive rights and a range of anti-discrimination protections into the state's highest governing document.

Versions of the amendment have circulated in the Legislature for years without being reconciled among the two chambers, the Senate and Assembly. But it has gained new urgency with the expected U.S. Supreme Court demise of Roe v. Wade, as states look to shore up their own abortion rights.

On Thursday, the Assembly introduced a new version of the legislation that is substantively the same as the bill being discussed in the Senate, indicating lawmakers are approaching consensus.

The amendment's sponsors expressed optimism a version of the ERA will pass this legislative session, a requisite to getting it approved by voters before 2025. Previous attempts at passage in 2019 and 2020 failed because of disagreements between Senate and Assembly Democrats over the breadth of protected categories.

"It seems like where we were in disagreement was truly in the weeds of how different constitutional experts interpret how you write things into constitutions," Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat and the amendment's prime State Senate sponsor, told Gotham Gazette of recent discussions.

"The central staff are still in negotiation with each other," she said. "I think we've come much closer but I can't tell you it's soup yet."

Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright, another Manhattan Democrat and the Assembly sponsor, told Gotham Gazette in a statement, "I’m very optimistic that we will pass equal rights legislation this year."

Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for the Senate Democratic Majority wrote in an email, "we are still discussing and hope to have path forward."

Spokespeople for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, did not respond to requests for comment.

The current bill would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and pregnancy and "pregnancy outcomes." The latter would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, according Krueger and a legislative source in the Assembly. Both bills also protect against discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, disability, and national origin.

The state enacted a statute in 2019 to protect reproductive rights and the state Human Rights Law contains a number of the protections outlined in the ERA. Placing them in the state constitution would give those rights a higher standard of review and protections from challenge in the courts. A federal ERA to ensure equal rights for women was introduced in 1923 but has never been ratified, though a number of states have adopted their own ERAs.

The Krueger-Seawright ERA would make New York's one of the most expansive in the country. The bill would make the protections self-executing, meaning they would not have to be further clarified in future legislation. They would also prohibit actions that have a discriminatory impact, whether or not it was intentional – a step beyond interpretations of the U.S. Constitution's Equal Protection Clause, according to a legislative memo attached to the bill.

Constitutional amendments must be passed in two consecutive legislative sessions and then be ratified by voters in a ballot referendum. With this year being the second in a two-year legislative session, the amendment must pass both houses this year or be ineligible for a second passage in the next two years. The last day of the legislative session is scheduled for June 2, though there is always a chance of a special session before year’s end. If an ERA passes this year and again next year (in the new Legislature based on this year’s election), it could appear on the general election ballot across the state as soon as fall 2023.

Prior to 2021, the Assembly advanced a version of the amendment that was not self-executing and incuded protections only on the basis of sex, but not gender identity or other categories. Seawright's latest introduction would be self-executing and added language to protect sexual orientation, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes.

In previous years, Krueger's ERA included protections on the basis of age – something the current iteration in both houses leaves out. Krueger told the Capitol Pressroom on Monday that she is still pushing for its inclusion in negotiations with other lawmakers.

There is also the question of a right to privacy, which Krueger has said is critical to ensuring other rights but which does not appear in the legislation she is currently working on.

She said the question is, "whether establishing right to privacy needs to be said separately or whether it's a de facto given," adding, "things like that are what seem to be holding up our ability to finalize, not fundamental disagreements over the purpose of this constitutional amendment."

Democratic Governor Kathy Hochul called for an Equal Rights Amendment as part of the "Equity Agenda" she released in January. She renewed those calls in the aftermath of the leaked draft Supreme Court decision that, if handed down, would eliminate federal abortion rights under the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

The ERA is "something we're looking at right now," Hochul said at a virtual press conference on May 10. "There are still a number of versions out there. This is something we actually looked at a number of years ago, and I supported this as lieutenant governor."

"At the time," she said, "we felt more secure that these rights would not be stripped away by the Supreme Court, but you had to be ready for anything, especially after the 2016 election. And now we're seeing the results of that."

When asked whether the governor would sign the legislation if it passed both chambers, a spokesperson for Hochul referred Gotham Gazette to the May 10 statement.

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo backed an ERA year after year in his policy agendas and budget proposals but it never passed before he resigned last year amid multiple sexual harassment and corruption allegations.

"We will pass an expanded, nation-leading Equal Rights Amendment so that no matter what happens at the federal level, all New Yorkers will be afforded the complete and unequivocal protections they deserve," Cuomo said in a statement as part of his 2020 State of the State agenda.

State Senator Andrew Gounardes (photo: NY Senate Media Services)

May 25, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Senator Andrew Gounardes on End of Legislative Session Priorities & More

State Senator Andrew Gounardes, a Brooklyn Democrat, joined the show to discuss major issues being negotiated as the end of this year's state legislative session nears. Gounardes discussed speed camera legislation, mayoral control of New York City schools, the 421-a real estate/affordable housing tax program, Mayor Adams' relationship with the State Legislature, and more.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts at Max Politics.

Scot Stringer, left, and Brad Hoylman (photo: @bradhoylman)

New York State Senator Brad Hoylman, a Manhattan Democrat, is running for reelection in a redrawn district after a chaotic state redistricting process. But the incumbent could face serious competition in the August primary as former New York City Comptroller and mayoral candidate Scott Stringer is gearing up to challenge him.  

Hoylman had previously considered a bid for an open seat in New York’s 10th congressional district, which is currently represented by U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is now running in the redrawn 12th district, represented by fellow Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney. There is already a crowded field for the new 10th district seat, including former Mayor Bill de Blasio. 

But Hoylman decided to eschew that primary and seek reelection. He currently represents District 27, which covers parts of Manhattan’s east and west side including the neighborhoods of Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Hell's Kitchen, Columbus Circle, Times Square, the Upper West Side, the East Village, Midtown East, and the Lower East Side.

After redistricting, Hoylman lives in District 47, which is situated entirely on the west side, stretching from the Meatpacking District through the Upper West Side up to West 100th Street — some of which is Stringer’s old base. Another candidate, Maria Danzilo, who unsuccessfully ran for City Council on the Upper West Side last year, is also running against Hoylman. 

“I'll be running on my record of legislative accomplishments, which I think will stand up to just about anyone,” Hoylman said in an interview. 

“It's been challenging every step of the way but I've succeeded on issues that I think many thought were not possible,” he added, “whether it's the Child Victims Act or the Adult Survivors Act, protecting transgender New Yorkers, fighting for tenants and seniors, and passing the most groundbreaking legislation on climate action.”

Hoylman’s new district includes about 52% of the residents from his current district, which means he will have vast swathes of new constituents. “I look forward to talking to those voters,” said Hoylman, who is not unfamiliar with other parts of Manhattan given his unsuccessful 2021 bid for Manhattan Borough President.

Those new voters are largely on the Upper West Side, which has been Stringer’s base for nearly 30 years. He represented the area as a member of the State Assembly from 1992 to 2005, and its voter-rich territory catapulted him to two terms as Manhattan Borough President and two as Comptroller, and came out relatively strong for him in his 2021 mayoral bid, which crashed in most other parts of the city after sexual misconduct allegations were made against him.

A person close to Stringer said that an analysis showed the numbers even more in his favor – that Hoylman has only represented 41% of Democratic registered voters in the new district while 57% of those voters are new to him. 

In an interview, Stringer would not confirm whether he is launching a campaign for Hoylman’s district which, as City & State first reported, he was rumored to be considering when the race would’ve been for an open seat if Hoylman ran for Congress.

But Stringer is taking steps that would set him on the path to a primary contest. He has been out in the streets with “a coalition of folks,” he said, collecting petition signatures to get on the August primary ballot -- primary day is August 23, with early voting preceding it. On Wednesday, he tweeted a photo of himself holding literature that clearly reads, “Scott Stringer for State Senate.” But he subsequently reiterated that he isn’t confirming his bid. 

“I haven't confirmed anything. We have not had a formal announcement yet,” he said in a brief phone interview. “So we're not going to dive right in. But an announcement will come as we get things a little further down the line.” 

“We're taking things slow, building consensus,” he added. 

Though he would in part be returning to his political roots and likely able to rely on many loyal supporters, Stringer faces some serious disadvantages. In last year’s mayoral race, he was a leading contender in the Democratic primary as one of the only elected officials in the race, along with then-Borough President Eric Adams, and a citywide one at that. But his campaign was thrown into disarray after multiple women came forward with allegations of sexual harassment that dated back decades. Stringer denied the allegations but lost the support of several elected officials and groups who had previously endorsed him. He later came in fifth in the primary. 

“We always talk about men's reputations being harmed and this false idea of cancel culture and yet, Scott Stringer is making the decision that he's going to come back into public life, political life, without ever taking accountability for his actions,” said Erica Vladimer, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group (SHWG), a group of current and former legislative aides who were sexually harassed and have led the effort to enact new state laws to prevent and punish such behavior.

Vladimer, who is running for a Democratic state committee position, also noted that Stringer’s campaign sought to discredit the account of one of his accusers, Jean Kim, who said he groped her when she worked on his unsuccessful campaign for public advocate in 2001. “He is acting as every candidate does. He is taking the actions of someone who expects to see their name on the ballot and expects to hold the public trust, and he doesn't deserve that,” Vladimir said. 

“Everyone deserves the opportunity to rectify harm and be welcomed back into whatever spaces they want to be a part of. He has yet to take any steps to prove that he deserves to be welcomed back into public service,” she added. 

Hoylman, on the other hand, “has been an ally of survivors since I've known him,” she said. Just this week, the Adult Survivors Act, which Hoylman sponsored, was signed into law by the governor. The legislation creates a one-year look-back window for adult sexual assault survivors to sue their alleged abusers.

Stringer has maintained support from several prominent elected officials from his home base including Rep. Nadler, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger, and others. Opinions of him are even divided within the Sexual Harassment Working Group. Elizabeth Crothers, another co-founder of the group, has repeatedly come to Stringer’s defense since the allegations were made last year. “While I don't use the word ‘integrity’ often nor lightly, I've seen that Scott has integrity - even when others don't,” she tweeted the day of the mayoral primary last June. “Whatever the election results, that will remain true.”

Hoylman, dealing with a new district and Stringer's machinations, quickly lined up and announced a series of endorsements in the last week, including from several progressive elected officials who had been allies of both men in the past, such as his Senate colleagues Senators Jessica Ramos, Julia Salazar, and Alessandra Biaggi, all of whom were among those who had endorsed Stringer in the mayoral primary but then rescinded that support upon Kim's allegations. 

“It's gonna be a tough race for [Stringer],” said Chris Coffey, CEO of Tusk Strategies, who co-ran Andrew Yang’s Democratic primary campaign for mayor last year, often clashing with Stringer’s campaign aides. “Brad is a popular legislator who has gotten a tremendous amount done in his time in Albany. So Scott is running against an incumbent and a popular incumbent. I don't know that that's the race that Scott intended it to be.” 

Coffey said Hoylman is not only one of the most effective members of the state Legislature, but also a strong campaigner and fundraiser. “As far as I know, he doesn't really have any negatives,” he said. And Stringer, he pointed out, did not fare so well on the Upper West Side in last year’s mayoral race despite it being his political stronghold. Kathryn Garcia, the former city sanitation commissioner who came in second to Adams in the primary, dominated the area.

“People have a choice now between a competent, well-liked legislator who has no baggage that I know of,” Coffey said, “versus someone who has just had this kind of tough experience in the mayoral race and not done well, even if he's a generally well-liked person, which I think [Stringer] is.”

Note - This article has been updated to note that Maria Danzilo is also running for the District 47 Senate seat. 

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi (photo: NYS Senate Media Services)

May 24, 2022 - Max Politics Podcast: Alessandra Biaggi Takes on Sean Patrick Maloney

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi joined the show to discuss her decision to run in New York's new 17th Congressional District, where she is set to compete in the Democratic primary against Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney, who currently represents the 18th Congressional District.

Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts at Max Politics.

(l-r) Democratic candidates for Governor Tom Suozzi, Kathy Hochul & Jumaane Williams

New York is slated to hold two separate primary elections this year after a chaotic redistricting process led to legal challenges and United States House of Representatives and State Senate district lines had to be redrawn.

The primaries for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, State Comptroller, State Assembly, and U.S. Senate will be held in June, with early voting June 18-26 and primary day the 28th.

Congressional and State Senate primaries will be held in August with early voting from August 13 to 21 and primary day the 23rd.

The deadline to register to vote in the June primary is June 3 for in-person registrations, while mailed registration forms must be postmarked June 3 and received by the Board of Elections by June 8.

New York has closed party primaries, meaning voters must be registered with the party in order to vote in its primary. The February 14 deadline to switch party affiliation before the primary has long passed.

Most of the action in the June primaries for New York voters is in the two major party primaries in the race for Governor; the Democratic primary for Lieutenant Governor; and a number of competitive State Assembly Democratic primaries, with several notable contests centered in Manhattan and Brooklyn, among others.

In the most competitive Assembly races, some are for open seats where the incumbent is not seeking reelection and some are where an incumbent is being challenged from the left.

Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Governor Kathy Hochul, the state’s first female governor, is running for her first full-term since taking office in August last year in the wake of Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation amid scandal.

Hochul faces two opponents in the June Democratic primary, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi from Long Island and New York City Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. The governor has a slew of advantages heading into the election, outperforming her challengers in polling and accumulating a massive campaign warchest.

Hochul’s campaign continues to deal with the resignation of her first choice as Lieutenant Governor, Brian Benjamin, who was indicted on public corruption charges and resigned. The Legislature passed a bill that allowed Benjamin to get off the ballot and Hochul appointed his successor, U.S. Rep. Antonio Delgado, who will also be her unofficial running-mate in the primary (the two positions are voted on separately in the party primaries before becoming tickets for the general election).

Suozzi, a moderate Democrat, is running on a platform of tackling rising crime and reducing taxes, as well as his experience as a former mayor and county executive and time in Congress. His running-mate is Diana Reyna, former deputy borough president in Brooklyn and a former New York City Council member.

Williams, a progressive Democrat, previously ran against Hochul and lost in the 2018 primary when she was serving as Lieutenant Governor. He is running a leftist campaign and has been endorsed by the Working Families Party. His running-mate is Ana María Archila, a longtime activist and nonprofit leader from Queens. 

In the Republican primary for Governor, four candidates are vying for the nomination. They include former Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino, who unsuccessfully challenged Cuomo in 2014; Andrew Giuliani, former aide to President Donald Trump and son of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani; businessman Harry Wilson; and U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island.

Alison Esposito, a former NYPD deputy inspector, is seeking the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor as Zeldin’s running-mate. She faces no opponents and is all but assured to be on the general election ticket with whichever Republican gubernatorial candidate prevails in the primary. 

Other Uncontested Statewide Primary Races
U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic majority leader, is running uncontested in the primary as he seeks another term. Republican Joseph Pinion, a former cable news anchor, awaits Schumer in the general election.

State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a Democrat who has been in his current office since 2007, is also running for reelection and has no primary opponents. In the Republican primary for comptroller, Paul Rodriguez, a Wall Street veteran, is running uncontested. 

State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, briefly launched a gubernatorial campaign but abandoned it to run for reelection. She has no challengers in the primary. In the Republican Attorney General primary, Michael Henry, a New York City-based attorney, is running uncontested. 

Assembly Races
There are 150 seats in the New York State Assembly, all of which are on the ballot every two years. Find your Assembly district after entering your address here.

Many candidates running for State Assembly this year are unopposed in the primary, particularly, as usual, a number of incumbents. There are, however, several races worth watching, including but not limited to the following:

Queens
In District 28, Assemblymember Andew Hevesi faces a challenger in Ethan Felder, who is assistant general counsel at 32BJ SEIU, the service employees union.

In District 30, Assemblymember Brian Barnwell is not running for reelection. Two candidates are seeking to replace him: Steven Raga, executive director of Woodside on the Move, and Ramon Cando, a Democratic District leader. 

In District 32, Assemblymember Vivian Cook is being challenged by Anthony Andrews Jr., a Democratic district leader.

In District 33, Assemblymember Clyde Vanel is facing off against Oster Bryan, president of the St. Albans Civic Association, who has unsuccessfully tried to challenge Vanel before.  

In District 35, Assemblymember Jeffrion Aubry is facing a challenge from disgraced former state Senator Hiram Monserrate, who has attempted to run for office several times since being expelled from the Senate after a conviction for assaulting his then-girlfriend. 

In District 37, Assemblymember Cathy Nolan is retiring after 37 years in office and four candidates are running to replace her. They include Juan Ardila, a staffer at the Legal Aid Society and a progressive who has won several prominent endorsements; Johanna Carmona, an attorney and Nolan’s chosen successor; Brent O'Leary, an attorney and community activist; and Jim Magee, an attorney. 

In District 40, Assemblymember Ron Kim is facing a challenge from Kenneth Chiu, founder of the New York City Asian American Democratic Club.  

Brooklyn
In District 43, Assemblymember Brian Cunningham, who won the seat in a special election in March, is facing three candidates in his run for reelection. They include Pierre Albert, a community activist; Jelanie Deshong, a former aide to Governor Hochul; and Tim Hunter, a high school teacher and community organizer.

In District 46, Assemblymember Mathylde Frontus is being challenged by Dionne Brown-Jordan, a Democratic district leader. 

In District 50, Assemblymember Emily Gallagher is facing a challenge from Paddy O'Sullivan, a firefighter. 

In District 51, Assemblymember Marcela Mitaynes is being challenged by Erik Frankel, a small business owner. 

In District 54, Assemblymember Erik Dilan is facing a challenge from Samy Nemir Olivares, a community activist and democratic socialist who has support from a wide swathe of progressive groups and officials.

In District 57, Assemblymember Phara Souffrant Forrest faces Olanike Alabi, a former Democratic district leader.  

In District 58, early voting is underway for the May 24 special election to replace Assemblymember Nick Perry, who was recently appointed U.S. ambassador to Jamaica. Among the candidates running to replace him are Democratic Party nominee Monique Chandler-Waterman, a staff member in the office of Public Advocate Jumaane Williams; and Hercules Reid, a former aide to Mayor Eric Adams who was recently endorsed by the mayor. Both Chandler-Waterman and Reid are on the June primary ballot as well and, depending on who wins the special election, will either be defending the seat or challenging for it.

In District 60, Assemblymember Nikki Lucas, who won the seat in a special election in February, faces a challenge from Keron Alleyne, who is backed by the Democratic Socialists of America New York City branch.

Staten Island
In District 61, which covers parts of Staten Island’s North Shore and Lower Manhattan, activist Justine Cuccia is challenging Democratic Assemblymember Charles Fall. 

In District 63, Assemblymember Michael Cusick, a Democrat who has held his seat since 2003, is not running for reelection. Cusick has endorsed his former chief of staff, Vincent Argenziano, to replace him. There is also a competitive Republican primary for his seat with two candidates running: Sam Pirozzolo, an optician who previously challenged Cusick in 2012, and Paul Ciurcina Jr., a retired NYPD detective.

Manhattan
In District 65, Assemblymember Yuh-line Niou, a Democrat, is leaving her seat to run for State Senate. There are four candidates running in the Democratic primary to replace her: Illapa Sairitupac, an activist and social worker backed by the New York City branch of the Democratic Socialists of America; Grace Lee, who ran against Niou in 2020 and has received a long list of endorsements from elected officials and political clubs; Denny Salas, who calls himself an “Obama Democrat” running on a pro-growth platform; and Alana Sivin, a lawyer and democratic socialist. 

In District 66, Assemblymember Deborah Glick, a trailblazing 32-year incumbent Democrat, is being challenged by Ryder Kessler, a progressive tech entrepreneur and first-time candidate. 

In District 68, Democratic Assemblymember Edward Gibbs, who won a special election earlier this year to take the seat, faces three challengers: John Ruiz Miranda, a district leader; Wilfredo Lopez, a former City Council staffer; and Tamika Mapp, who previously sought the seat in 2020.

In District 70, Assemblymember Inez Dickens is facing two challengers: Delsenia Glover, a longtime progressive housing advocate and Deputy Public Advocate; and Shawanna Vaughn, founder and director of Silent Cry, Inc., a Harlem-based non-profit. 

There’s a crowded Democratic primary race in District 73, where Assemblymember Dan Quart is not running for reelection. There are five candidates seeking to fill his seat. They include Kellie Leeson, co-founder of Empire State Indivisible; Russell Squire, chair of Community Board 8; Alex Bores, an engineer; and Adam Roberts, a former aide to former Council Member Ben Kallos and currently director of policy for the American Institute of Architects.

There’s also a crowded primary in District 75, where longtime Democratic Assemblymember Richard Gottfried is retiring. There are five candidates in the race to replace him: Harrison Douglas Marks; Layla Law-Gisiko; Christopher Lebron; Tony Simone; and Lowell Kern. Simone seems to be the heavy favorite in the race, having been endorsed by Gottfried and many other current and former elected officials including those who represent or have represented parts of the district.

In District 76, Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright is being challenged again by Patrick Bobilin, a democratic socialist.

The Bronx
In District 78, Assemblymember José Rivera is being challenged by two candidates: George Alvarez, a perennial candidate; and Emmanuel Martinez, chair of Bronx Community Board 7. 

In District 81, Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz is being challenged by Jessica Altagracia Woolford, a community organizer and former city press secretary for U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. 

In District 82, Assemblymember Michael Benedetto faces two challengers: Jonathan Soto, a former campaign staffer for U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and Algernon Quattlebaum, a former restaurateur. 

In District 84, Assemblymember Amanda Septimo is being challenged by Hector Feliciano, a director of a college prep program; and Alberto Torres, an attorney and community organizer. 

In District 86, Assemblymember Yudelka Tapia, a first-term member, is being challenged by Pooi Stewart, a teacher and secretary of Bronx Community Board 5. 

Outside New York City
In District 95, longtime Assemblymember Sandy Galef is retiring and three candidates are running to replace her including Westchester County Legislator Colin Smith, Ossining Supervisor Dana Levenberg, and former Peekskill Council Member Vanessa Agudelo.

In District 103, which includes parts of Dutchess and Ulster counties, Sarahana Shrestha, a first-generation immigrant and climate organizer, is challenging incumbent Democrat Kevin Cahill, who has been in office since 1998. Shrestha serves as the Ulster County co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) and has made climate change the central issue to her campaign.  

In District 111, which includes parts of Montgomery and Schenectady counties, progressive candidate Justin Chaires is challenging Angelo Santabarbara, a Democrat who has held his seat since 2012. Chaires is also running on the Working Families Party line against another candidate, Robert Menzies. There is also a competitive Republican primary for the district with two candidates seeking the nomination: Joseph Mastroianni and Michael Arbige.

Rob Astorino (photo: Astorino for Governor)

Rob Astorino, Republican candidate for Governor in the 2022 election, joined host Ben Max on MNN's Decision NYC to discuss his campaign. Astorino, the 2014 Republican nominee for Governor and former Westchester County Executive, is running in the June Republican primary against several other candidates. In the video interview, Astorino discusses his experience, campaign platform, and standing in the primary.

Voters at the polls (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)

After the stunning defeat of two voting-related state constitutional amendments on the ballot last fall, Democrats vowed to reinitiate the multi-year process this legislative session in Albany. But no state lawmaker appears to have introduced legislation this year to amend the New York constitution to allow for same-day voter registration and universal absentee voting, raising the possibility that they may not act at all.

Barring a special session later this year, the Legislature now has just three weeks to introduce and pass the amendments in order to possibly get them to a ballot referendum before 2025, according to one reading of the state constitution. 

The amendments – to allow people to register and vote on the same day and to make universal absentee voting permanent – were thought to be a fait accompli last year, but were defeated after a concerted Republican campaign with little reciprocity from Democrats in the low-turnout off-year election. Election reformers who have been advocating for these reforms for years were hoping to see them back on the ballot in 2024, which will include a high-turnout presidential election where there is typically a larger proportion of Democratic voters, who more often favor making voting easier. But the chances for that are dwindling.

The last day of session this year is scheduled for June 2. Both the State Assembly and Senate are controlled by Democratic supermajorities, and Governor Kathy Hochul is a Democrat.

Constitutional amendments in New York must be passed by consecutive two-year sessions of the Legislature and then be approved by voters in a referendum. Because 2022 is the last year of a two-year cycle, the amendments could get on the ballot as early as the 2023 general election if they are passed this year and again next year (the first year of the next two-year session). But if they fail to pass this year, lawmakers will have to pass them next year or the year after, and again in either 2025 or 2026, before they can go before voters.

"We are still discussing these reforms," wrote Mike Murphy, a spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat, in an email when asked if there were plans to introduce and pass the amendments in the next three weeks.

Hochul backed the reforms in the State of the State agenda she released in January: "the Governor will urge the Legislature to begin the Constitutional amendment process for no-excuse absentee voting and same-day registration."

It's unclear to what extent the administration followed through on that commitment. Asked about this priority, a spokesperson referred Gotham Gazette to a general statement on voting legislation: "Governor Hochul has taken bold action to expand voting rights and is committed to making sure New York State will continue to be a national leader on voting rights protections."

A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie did not respond to requests for comment.

Another reading of the constitution suggests the amendments could move to their second passage next year even if they aren't reintroduced and passed this year. That's because the amendments technically already passed in this two-year session last year, before they failed in the 2021 ballot referendum. The law says little about whether the failed referendum resets the cycle. "The constitution is a little murky on that honestly," said Jarret Berg, an election lawyer and voting rights advocate.

If lawmakers are pursuing this latter approach, little has been said publicly about it. "It seems like they don't have a strategy for what to do with this," Berg said.

It could be the second time Democrats drop the ball on these marquee voting amendments, having failed to drum up support for the referenda last fall during a low-turnout election. State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs later admitted the party had underestimated Republicans' negative messaging and made no effort to pass what were widely believed to be slam dunks. 

Last fall, Assembly Member Robert Carroll, a Brooklyn Democrat and his chamber’s lead sponsor of same-day registration, and Senator Leroy Comrie, a Queens Democrat and his chamber’s lead sponsor of no-excuse absentee voting, both said they would reintroduce the legislation this year. "I don't anticipate having any problems with reintroducing it and getting it passed," Comrie told Gotham Gazette in December.

Spokespeople for Comrie and Senator Michael Gianaris, another Queens Democrat and the Senate deputy majority leader who sponsors same-day registration in that chamber, did not return requests for comment.

Dan Campanelli, a spokesperson for Carroll, said his office submitted a request to introduce the bill to the speaker's office earlier this year. "We're still going to try to pass it, we're waiting on a [bill] number," he told Gotham Gazette.

Since the amendments have already passed both chambers at least twice, they could easily be reintroduced and passed by the end of June session, including in a potential “big ugly” end-of-session package that often comes together at the 11th hour.

In the absence of a constitutional amendment, lawmakers are looking to lower the voter registration deadline to the 10-day constitutional minimum from the current 25 days before an election. Hochul backed the measure in her State of the State policy agenda. This past week, a bill to do so advanced out of the Assembly elections committee, having already passed the full Senate in January.

In January, lawmakers extended the temporary provision that authorizes universal absentee voting during the pandemic emergency through the end of this year. Another bill, also passed and signed into law in January, allows universal absentee voting in school district elections in 2022.

The state budget adopted last month also included $4 million for pre-paid postage on absentee ballots and ballot applications. Voting rights advocates have equated absentee ballot postage to a poll tax. This is the first time the state has allocated funding to postage since the June 2020 primaries.