OP-ED: What you need to know about NY’s ballot proposals

We all know our democracy is on the line this election, and candidates up and down the ballot will shape our nation for generations to come, but for voters in New York City, this Election Day also offers a rare opportunity. Flip your ballot over and you will find six proposals with a direct say in the future of our state and city. Most voters have never heard of these proposals, so we all need to make sure voters are ready for them come Election Day.

Proposal 1 will protect abortion rights and full equality in our state constitution. New Yorkers should vote YES to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution and protect against government discrimination.

Prop 1 closes loopholes that most New Yorkers don’t even know exist: Abortion rights and many protections against discrimination aren’t actually guaranteed in our state constitution. We all remember how angry and vulnerable we felt when the Supreme Court decimated Roe v. Wade. One of our last defenses against extreme politicians—the kind who want to criminalize abortion, oppose contraception, and demonize families who use IVF—was suddenly gone. Most of us thought our hard-won rights were secure, but suddenly they were ripped away.

We can’t afford to be caught off guard like that again. New York is increasingly a battleground state, and it was just the last election that an anti-abortion nominee for governor came close to winning. AWhile it may be true that New York has strong abortion laws today, we also know by now that laws alone just aren’t enough to prepare for tomorrow.