Gov. Andrew Cuomo announces funding for early voting in New York state

New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week announced a 30-day budget amendment to fund early voting across the state.

The effort is part of the Democracy Agenda, a project proposed to reform the political process and increase transparency.

Cuomo’s proposal will allocate $7 million to the Fiscal Year 2019 Executive Budget, an incentive for counties in New York to offer early voting 12 days before Election Day, giving voters eight hours on weekdays and five hours on weekends to cast their ballots.

As part of the legislation, every county will have one early voting poll site for every 50,000 residents. In the United States, 37 states and the District of Columbia currently allow early voting. New York is one of 13 states that did not, before the amendment.

An American Journal of Political Science study conducted by political scientists from the University of Wisconsin-Madison found that early voting decreased the likelihood of voter turnout by 3 to 4 percent, while Election Day registration increased the probability of voter turnout by the same percentage.

“The stimulus that Election Day provides by giving people information, imposing social pressure to encourage them to vote, giving them social rewards from seeing neighbors and friends at a polling place — all the things that happen on a traditional Election Day — tend to be diluted,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who worked on the AJPS study.

Christopher Faricy, associate professor of political science at Syracuse University, said in an email that voter turnout is caused by a variety of factors that are not necessarily limited to state laws.

“A state may make it easier to vote but that doesn’t mean more people will vote,” Faricy said.

There is also a disparity between the information available to voters at different times of voting. Some worry that because campaigns and media coverage increase in intensity as Election Day gets closer, people will vote with different information, Burden said.

Burden added that the allocation of early votes in cases where candidates withdraw or die before the election vary in different states. In some states, voters can cast new ballots. Other states also allow the votes to be reallocated to a nominee.

For nonprofit organizations specializing in voting reform, such as Vote.org, making voting more convenient and accessible is necessary for increased voter turnout. Strategies such as “get out the vote” campaigns can also help bump up the number of voters.

“Early voting is a common-sense improvement to the voting process in the United States,” said Debra Cleaver, CEO of Vote.org. “Although New York is considered a progressive state and presumably does work to increase voter turnout, New York is not a trendsetter. New York is decades behind other states.”

Onida Coward Mayers — director of voter assistance for the New York City Campaign Finance Board — said in New York, groups are trying to “build back our culture of voting.”

“It is what is at the foundation of what it means to be an American and it’s at the foundation of what our democracy means,” Coward said.