2016 Postmortem
In reply to the discussion: Bernie Sanders bashes New York election law [View all]Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)New York State Near Bottom in Voter Turnout Rankings
New York City hit a historic low in voter turnout last November, but the latest report from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission makes it clear that our voter turnout crisis extends across New York State. After each federal election, the EAC collects data from election administrators around the country about voter registration and turnout for the best comparison for how states stack up against each other. New York routinely ranks near the bottom for turnout in EAC reports, and 2014 was no different. The state trailed the rest of the nation, ranking 46th for voter turnout among the citizen voting age population (CVAP). An abysmally low 29.1% of citizens age 18 or over cast a ballot last November only slightly better than the 20% who turned out in New York City. New York can and should do more to encourage civic participation among voters starting with reforming our outdated, restrictive election laws.
http://www.nyccfb.info/media/blog/new-york-state-near-bottom-voter-turnout-rankings
Are NYers proud of this bottom of the barrel turnout? Many of them on DU seem to be very proud of their State's voter apathy. In 2014 NY was the lowest turnout of any Blue State. Only Texas and Indiana had lower turnout than NY. Is that really something to celebrate or is Bernie correct to join the NYC Campaign Finance Board in criticizing NY election restrictions?
Some more:
Forty Years of Freefall in New York Voter Turnout
Voter turnout in New York State is in freefall. Last week's gubernatorial election saw the smallest number of voters make it to the polls in the four decades since the state Board of Elections was formed and began tracking voting. Few reports have noted the extent of the decline: Cuomo's 52.5 percent of the vote on election night may have seemed like the typical erosion of an incumbent's margin - down from 61 percent in 2010 - but it obscures a fall of nearly one million votes.
"New York has always been lousy," says New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) legislative director Blair Horner. "It's getting worse."
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5432-forty-years-of-freefall-in-new-york-voter-turnout