Fifth in a series of commentaries for and against a Constitutional Convention in New York state.

The writer, former Counsel to Gov. Mario Cuomo, is manager of the Committee for a Constitutional Convention.



By Evan A. Davis | Special to The Post-Standard



In the 2016 presidential election, New York ranked 45th among states in voter turnout; in 2014, it was fifth-worst, with a turnout of only 29.5 percent. New York has a terrible record of voting reform but an extraordinary opportunity on Nov. 7 to fix it. On Election Day, New Yorkers have the once-every-20-years right to support a Constitutional Convention to make reforms that the state Legislature won't make.



The Legislature likes the system the way it is. Enabling more people to vote means injecting uncertainty into elections, and that might alter the careers of current elected officials.



That's why New York makes it hard to vote. New York does not allow early in-person voting, even though 32 states and the District of Columbia do. It does not allow same-day registration, even though 14 states and D.C. do.



New Yorkers cannot submit an absentee ballot by mail without having to certify a reason why in-person voting is not possible. Yet 27 states allow absentee voting for convenience.



Three states (Colorado, Oregon, and Washington) conduct elections entirely by mail. California will start moving toward holding elections entirely by mail in 2018.



The Legislature's resistance to electoral reform does not stop there. It's widespread and multi-dimensional.



New York has no meaningful campaign contribution limits, for instance. By creating limited liability companies, a corporate or individual donor can give an unlimited amount.



Even without the small effort to create an LLC, a donor can contribute $109,000 to a political party and any amount to party "housekeeping" committees for get-out-the-vote activities. Incumbents prefer high contribution limits, since it is generally easier for someone already in office to attract big donors than it is for challengers.



The legislative leaders' control over fundraising by party committees also enhances their control over members of the Legislature, to whom they dole out the funds. That perpetuates the "three men in a room" system that governs Albany.



Gerrymandering further reduces accountability. The goal of gerrymandering is to make an elected office safe for a particular party or incumbent. Increasing the number of safe seats reduces the accountability that comes with political competition and breeds corruption.



The redistricting advisory body crafted by the Legislature in a 4,600-word smoke-and-mirrors constitutional amendment does not provide for independent redistricting. It provides for party control. A court, therefore, ruled that the word "independent" be stricken from a ballot description of the initiative.



Similarly, elections are run by the two major political parties, not by nonpartisan professionals. New York's Constitution requires that members of boards of election and subordinate election officials be chosen in equal numbers by the Democratic and Republican parties. When the parties dominate election administration in this way, protection of incumbents can easily prevail over both fairness to challengers and eagerness to make all-out efforts to expand voting.



Independents are also effectively disenfranchised. New York has "closed" primaries. This means that only party members can vote in primaries, which in many parts of the state are, for all practical purposes, the deciding election. Under California's "top two" primary system, there is a single primary among all candidates (with an option of indicating a candidate's party preference), and the two candidates getting the highest number of votes go on to run in the general election.



It's for these reasons that the State Constitution gives voters the right every 20 years to call for a constitutional convention. The drafters of the Constitution anticipated that elected officials would resist certain reforms and thus provided a periodic mechanism for voters to make their own.



On Nov. 7, New York voters should activate that mechanism and support a constitutional convention. The Legislature has worked to undercut voting and keep incumbents in office. New Yorkers should re-establish democracy in Albany, putting voters, not incumbents, in charge.





More on the New York constitutional convention:

>> New York constitutional convention: What it means to you, how it would work

>> NY constitutional convention is the only way to clean up Albany

>> NY constitutional convention threatens 'Forever Wild' Adirondacks

>> NY constitutional convention can make courts work better

>> NY constitutional convention could gut worker protections

>> NY constitutional convention a 'field day for powerful lobbyists'