There were widespread reports of malfunctioning ballot scanners and long lines at polling places on Tuesday, prompting calls for lawmakers to update the state's antiquated election and voting laws. Now it's up to lawmakers to review the complaints and figure out what to do.
The Assembly's Standing Committee on Election Law will hold a public hearing Thursday in Manhattan to review Election Day operations and possible ways to improve the voting experience.
Advance voting will likely be at the top of that list. New York is now one of a minority of states that don't allow voters to cast an early ballot, either in person or through the mail.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said his chamber is determined to take action this year to overhaul the state's election rules, many of which have been largely unchanged for decades.
"We have legislation ready to ensure every eligible voter has ample opportunity to vote, including the establishment of an early voting period and no-excuse absentee voting," Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said Wednesday in a statement. "We also plan to pass legislation to combine federal and state primaries, bringing New York State in compliance with federal law. We want to modernize and streamline voter registration by establishing an online registration process."
Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, also listed voting reform as one of his priorities for the year.
Other proposed changes intended to make it easier to vote include overhauling the state's onerous registration deadlines, which can force people to affiliate with a party in some cases more than a year before the primary to cast a ballot.
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"It is so hard to vote in this state," Cuomo said on the radio Thursday. "It is a joke. ... Early voting! Make it easier."
