Senate Bill S160

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S160

SPONSOR: SALAZAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment
to sections 1 and 3 of article 2 of the constitution, in relation to
authorizing voting by incarcerated people

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To create an affirmative right in the constitution entitling incarcerat-
ed people to vote and to delete language excluding citizens from the
vote.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1 of article 2 of the constitution to provide
that incarcerated people shall he entitled to vote provided they meet
the other qualifications.

Section 2 amends section 3 of article 2 of the constitution by deleting
              

language requiring the legislature to enact laws stripping people of
their right to vote when they have been convicted of "bribery or of any
infamous crime."

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Voting is a fundamental human right.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. considered the right to vote as central to
all advances in civil and human rights in this country, and as, "the
foundation stone for political action."

The long history in New York State of prohibiting citizens with felony
convictions from, voting derives from dehumanizing and racist policies
and practices arising during the time of slavery and the era of Jim
Crow. It is time to correct this injustice embedded in our state consti-
tution and rooted in unacceptable white supremacist ideology.

More than 30,000 New Yorkers are currently incarcerated in New York's
prisons, approximately three-quarters of whom are people of color.  The
existence of the state constitutional ban on voting by individuals
incarcerated with felony convictions has a particular impact on communi-
ties of color and on the recognition of the full citizenship rights and
responsibilities to which these individuals are entitled.

This amendment would pave the way for the re-enfranchisement of people
with criminal convictions to vote on the outside and while incarcerated.

This proposed amendment eliminates an impediment to the creation of a
system whereby people with felony convictions and incarcerated people
can vote while incarcerated. In addition, the amendment creates an
affirmative right for incarcerated people to vote while incarcerated.

 
RACIAL AND SOCIAL JUSTICE IMPACT:

This legislation would change the lens under which the State views the
human rights of incarcerated persons. By ensuring the right to vote, the
legislation moves New York forward and away from racist practices aris-
ing during the time of slavery and the era of Jim Crow.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

SENATE

2023-2024: S316 (Salazar) - Referred to Judiciary, to Attorney-General
for Opinion, Referred to Judiciary

2021-2022: S3073 (Salazar)- Referred to Judiciary, to Attorney-General
for Opinion, Referred to Judiciary

2020: Referred to Judiciary, to Attorney-General for Opinion

2019: S6905 (Salazar)- Referred to Rules

ASSEMBLY

2023-2024: A412 (Epstein) - Referred to Election Law, to Attorney-Gener-
al for Opinion, Referred to Judiciary

2021-2022: A6646 (Epstein)- Referred to Election Law, to Attorney-Gener-
al for Opinion, Referred to Judiciary

2020: Referred to Election Law, to Attorney-General for Opinion,
Referred to Judiciary

2019: A8909 (Epstein)- Referred to Election Law

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
The foregoing amendment shall be referred to the first regular legisla-
tive session convening after the next succeeding general election of
members of the assembly, and, in conformity with section 1 of article 19
of the constitution, be published for 3 months previous to the time of
such election.