Also on the early voting and Nov. 2 ballot will be five propositions for voters to weigh in on.
The first would amend the state constitution to add rules about how district lines for state and congressional districts are established. It would freeze the number of state senators at 63, up from 50, and outline the appointment of two executive directors of the redistricting commission, who would need a simple majority vote without regard to their party affiliations.
Incarcerated people would be counted as residents of the districts of their last known addresses, rather than the districts in which they were imprisoned. It would also “require that State Assembly and Senate district lines be based on the total population of the state, and require the state to count all residents, including non-citizens and Native Americans, if the federal census fails to include them.” This would also revise the procedure for drawing and approving congressional and state legislative districts, slated to take place in 2022.
The second proposition would would guarantee the right of every person to clean air and water and a healthful environment. New York would become the third state to establish such a right, which would mandate all legislative
bodies in the state to “consider the environment and its citizens’ relationship to it in all decision making.”
The third and fourth measures deal with voter registration. One would eliminate the current requirement that people need to register at least 10 days before an election in order to cast a ballot. If approved, the state could create laws allowing same-day voter registration and the ability to fix incorrect voter information at polling sites. The other proposition would allow the state to eliminate a requirement that voters give an excuse or reason when requesting an absentee ballot.
The fifth proposition would allow New York City Civil Court to hear and decide cases with claims of up to $50,000. The current limit is $25,000.
Locally, the League of Women Voters of the Hamptons, Shelter Island, and the North Fork opposes proposition number one “because it unfairly empowers the majority party and significantly reduces the role of the new Independent Redistricting Commission.” The league supports the second, third, and fourth measures, and has no position on the fifth.
Voters can find more details on each proposition and candidate online at vote411.org.