Voting on the weekend could be coming in 2020 for New Yorkers. An overhaul of the state’s election procedures is expected to be one of the consequences of the Democratic takeover of the state Senate, which will likely be more receptive to proposed reforms that had passed the Democratic-controlled state Assembly, including early voting, no-excuse absentee voting, and a single legislative primary date. Progressive activists and Senate Democrats anticipate voting reforms will be near the top of the Legislature’s agenda when state lawmakers return to Albany in January. Many of these proposals were held up in the state Senate’s committee process during GOP control of the chamber.
Adding seven days of voting had been approved the last three years by the Assembly, and is supported by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, whose early voting language in the state budget was stripped away this year by Senate Republicans.
Speaking at an Assembly hearing on Thursday in New York City, state Board of Elections co-Director Bob Brehm said early voting could improve the “customer service” experience for voters.
Any expansion of voting days, though, would mean local boards would have to find additional staffing and polling sites. Brehm noted that the governor’s proposal in the state budget didn’t include adequate funds to cover the new local costs.
Full Article: Voting in New York poised for overhaul – Times Union.