The League of Women Voters applauds the State Legislature for the important election reforms it has passed over the past two years, and we support many of the new policies being proposed this year to enhance voter access to the ballot. The League is alarmed, however, that the proposed mandates are not accompanied by the allocation of sufficient funds to implement them.

Counties around the state are facing severe budget constraints in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. County Boards of Election often find that their funding requests are superseded by more urgent demands. This will be especially true in the coming non-presidential election year. For this reason, the League recommends that the Legislature set up a yearly fund dedicated to supporting election reforms like early and absentee voting.

Early voting has proven to be very popular in New York. In consequence, many voters during the 2020 election experienced extremely long wait times at early voting sites. The Legislature has responded by moving to more than double (to 800) the minimum number of sites statewide. But without increased state funding, this laudable initiative will impose a crushing burden on the counties.

Likewise, more funding is needed to implement reforms designed to expand and improve the entire process of absentee voting (which was also popular with voters in 2020). These reforms-- allowing online requests for absentee ballots and the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, software that enables voters to track their absentee ballot, and providing more opportunities for voters to cure some deficiencies with their ballots--will save money in the long run. But some of them will impose considerable initial expenses on the counties involved. For example, according to the Brennan Center, implementing software to track absentee ballots can cost from $50,000 to $100,000.

The League urges voters to contact their state representatives and ask them to see to it that both the Assembly and Senate versions of the Budget include sufficient funding to enable county legislatures, as well as voters, to welcome these voting reforms.

Kathleen Stein, president

League of Women Voters of St. Lawrence County