Citizens Union believes our democracy is strongest when more of us are participating. That’s why we’ve fought for – and won – reforms that expand and protect the right to vote in New York State. 

Throughout the 20th century, Citizens Union has been at the forefront of crucial voting reforms. Early electoral reform efforts we advanced and won included signature identification of voters (1914), ending slate voting by allowing voters to support candidates from different political parties on one ballot (1915), and instituting permanent personal registration (1957), which overturned the requirement voters re-register before every election. Decades of advocacy to make the New York City Government more democratic also led to the first enactment of proportional representation in the City Council (1936) and the abolishment of the undemocratic Board of Estimates (1988). 

Since 2019, New York has been slowly reforming its regressive voting laws that depressed voter participation. After decades of advocacy, New Yorkers can now use early voting days, pre-register to vote at 16, access absentee ballots more easily, and check in at poll sites on electronic poll books. Individuals on parole now have their right to vote restored once they are released from prison, and students in many colleges have access to poll sites on campus. Several crucial reforms are in different stages of implementation, including Online Voter Registration, Automatic Voter Registration, and even-numbered year county and town local elections.

In New York City, voters now use Ranked Choice Voting to choose their local elected officials, from the mayor to their Council Member. Citizens Union has long advocated for Ranked Choice Voting because it gives voters more choices and saves taxpayer money by avoiding costly runoff elections. It was successfully implemented for the first time in the 2021 municipal election cycle.

Recent Activity – Elections and Voting

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