"The federal legislation activists are pushing includes the For the People Act, which would help more Americans retain their voting rights, and the companion John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore and strengthen the federal oversight provisions stripped out of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by the 2013 Supreme Court case Shelby County v. Holder."
"We’ve got to have federal legislation,” agrees Jesselyn McCurdy, managing director of government affairs at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, whose All Voting is Local campaign is working on the ground in eight states to combat voter suppression."
"The For the People Act passed the House and is stymied in the Senate. The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act was introduced in the House on Aug. 17. McCurdy has testified at hearings to establish a legislative record of voting discrimination to help the act withstand anticipated court challenges."
“Young voters have so much power,” says Holley of Fair Fight Action. “I’m 29, and we are not in the minority anymore. If our vote didn’t matter, you know the Republican Party would not be coming out in historical force to strip away the right to vote."
Question: How is voting in your state?
Voting in New York has improved in recent years. We now have weeks of early voting, multiple places in a county, and you can cast an early vote anywhere in your county. (They'll print you a ballot just for you).
Vote-by-mail is constrained by a provision in the State Constitution that guarantees everyone can vote in person. (Our constitution is old and difficult to amend.) So if you want to vote by mail you must request a ballot in writing. If you call your county BOE they will mail you the form, which you only need to sign and return.
Elections in New York are NOT managed by the secretary of state. There is a State Board Of Elections consisting of members from the 2 most numerous political parties. And every county has 2 Commissioners Of Elections that are selected by members of those same 2 parties.
Sounds sort of fair. I vote by mail, and don't need to write a request each voting year. My ballot arrives automatically, and if it didn't arrive, I could request a mail-in ballot on my county's website. I think NY'ers should also have that convenience.
Voting in Mass is easy as pie..
Voting in Hawaii is effortless.