WASHINGTON – After both chambers of the New York State Legislature passed S.830 // A4448, a bill permanently restoring voting rights to 43,000 returning citizens, Stand Up America issued the following statement:
“Outdated, racist voter suppression laws that disenfranchise the formerly incarcerated have no place in New York. No one should be excluded from our democracy because of Jim Crow-relic voting laws or as a result of our deeply broken criminal justice system.
“We applaud the activists who brought attention to this injustice and the state lawmakers who voted for this critical bill—and thank Sen. Leroy Comrie, Sen. Zellnor Myrie, Rep. Daniel O’Donnell, and Rep. Latrice Walker for championing this bill through both chambers.
“Now, we implore the governor to move quickly to sign this bill into law.”
The bill, S.830B // A.4448A, will codify, clarify, and expand upon the executive order issued by the governor in 2018 by creating a bright-line rule that is easy to administer and understand: If you are a citizen living in the community you are immediately eligible to vote. The bill also requires that New Yorkers be informed of their newly restored voting rights before being released and that they also receive a voter registration application.
Stand Up America’s community members in New York drove 2,200 calls and emails to state lawmakers in support of the bill. The group partnered with Alliance of Families for Justice, Brennan Center, Brooklyn Voter Alliance, Citizen Action of New York, Parole Preparation Project, VOCAL-NY, and numerous other groups to pressure the state legislature to pass the bill.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
