Assemblywoman Rhoda Jacobs (D-Brooklyn) announced her support today for bills that would reform New York’s electoral process through early voting measures (A.689) measure and stronger campaign disclosure rules (A.690).

This announcement comes after an election in which polling sites in the 42nd Assembly District were unprepared and understaffed, disenfranchising countless district voters, who waited several hours to cast their ballot.

“As a state Assemblymember,” Jacobs said, “it’s my duty to ensure that as many citizens as possible have the opportunity to be part of the electoral process, and that voters know where political messages – and the money behind them – come from.”

Why early voting matters

According to Jacobs, early voting would mean fewer people waiting in long lines on Election Day, decrease the need for absentee ballots and allow people with disabilities and those with non-traditional work schedules easier access to voting.

“Long lines to vote and problems at polling sites on Election Day too often discourage people from participating in the electoral process and disenfranchise our citizens,” Jacobs emphasized. “The abysmal voting conditions that Flatbush and Midwood voters have been subjected to in recent elections cannot be allowed to become the status quo.”

Early voting in all general, primary and special elections, Jacobs said, would help ease some of these problems and encourage greater voter participation, which in 2012 was less than 46 percent in New York State.

New York would join 32 other states and the District of Columbia in permitting an alternative to in-person voting on election days. Under the legislation, voters would be permitted to vote at designated locations beginning 14 days prior to general elections and 7 days prior to primary or special elections.

The need for increased disclosure of independent expenditures

The second piece of legislation would require that more independent expenditures that influence elections be subject to financial campaign disclosure rules, helping ensure that voters know where the money behind the message is coming from.

According to Jacobs, large corporations, billionaires and special-interest groups are allowed to spend unlimited money on political campaigns as long as they define themselves as “issue advocates” and avoid the use of certain words. This loophole leaves voters in the dark about who is behind messages and ads they see and where the money funding them comes from.

The proposed bill, if enacted, would ensure that independent entities spending money on political campaigns are subject to the same registration and disclosure provisions that are now required of candidates and their campaigns.

“Flatbush and Midwood voters deserve better,” Jacobs stressed. “We should strive to increase openness and accountability in our state’s electoral system, which this legislation would do.”

(YWN Desk – NYC)