Voting by mail is easy, secure and cost effective. It saves time for voters and increases turnout and favors neither Democrats nor Republicans. Millions of Americans cast their ballots via the Post Office during COVID and several states have adopted 100% voting by mail.
New York State, having successfully experimented with widespread mail ballots during COVID, is now making it permanent starting in 2024 with a bill approved last week by Gov. Hochul. Bravo.
Yet moments after Hochul signed the bill Wednesday morning, Republicans sued in state court in Albany.Hochul and the majority Democrats in the Legislature contend that this an expansion of early voting. The Republicans argue that this alters absentee voting, which the state Constitution restricts to those who, “on the occurrence of any election, may be absent from the county of their residence and qualified voters who, on the occurrence of any election, may be unable to appear personally at the polling place because of illness or physical disability.”
The GOP is correct about the limits of absentee voting, which can only be changed with a constitutional amendment. But the Democrats are correct that this does not impact absentee voting, but rather creates a new option for voters. We hope that the lawsuit fails.Our neighbors in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania have very similar constitutional language about absentee voting that says: “on the occurrence of any election, be absent from the municipality of their residence, because their duties, occupation or business require them to be elsewhere or who, on the occurrence of any election, are unable to attend at their proper polling places because of illness or physical disability or who will not attend a polling place because of the observance of a religious holiday or who cannot vote because of election day duties.”
YET even with that mandate, Pennsylvania has universal mail-in ballots for anyone who wants one. They also have a separate absentee ballot for those who are out of town or sick (or observing a religious holiday).
We’re not sure why the Republicans are even suing. In 2019, when the Democrats in Albany proposed getting rid of the constraints on absentee balloting, the GOP voted overwhelmingly for the constitutional amendment. Of 24 GOP state senators, only five voted no. Of 43 Republican assembly members, only eight voted against it. Voting yes were the minority leader at the time, Brian Kolb, and the current minority leader, Will Barclay. Members Nicole Malliotakis and Andy Goodell were also yes votes. Yet Goodell and Malliotakis, now in Congress, are among those suing.
In 2021, when the required second vote by the Legislature was held, the tone had changed, as a number of Republicans, but not all, switched to no. That November, the voters turned it down. Unfortunately, this good government measure, called Ballot Question 4, got caught up with a very bad partisan Ballot Question 1, where the Dems tried to rig redistricting in the state Constitution. The Republicans put up an effective ad campaign against Question 1 and both amendments failed (along with another useful bipartisan amendment, Ballot Question 3, to allow same day voter registration).
It’s too bad that the Dems attempted to jam through their partisan junk in 2021, but they should try again on absentees. Meanwhile, taking the Pennsylvania route on mail ballot also works.
— New York Daily News
