Letter on Voting Rights during COVID-19

The New York Civil Liberties wrote a letter to New York State leaders and the New York State Board of Elections to urge them to take our recommendations to ensure that the statewide June primary election is safe and accessible for voters, poll workers, essential workers, as well as their families, friends, and neighbors.

Read the letter

We applaud the decision to recognize that the pandemic and public health measures required to fight it afford all New Yorkers a valid reason to safely vote absentee. We also applaud the decisions to send postage-paid absentee ballot applications to every registered voter, and to allow voters to apply to vote by mail electronically or over the phone. But New York must do more to safeguard its residents’ rights and health in the midst of this pandemic. No one should be forced to choose between their health and their right to vote.