U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other far-left advocates are pushing for radical changes to New York state voting laws, according to conservative critics who say three propositions on the ballot this weekend, if approved, will undermine how honest elections are conducted in the state.
Voters will have five propositions to consider, including three — Propositions 1, 3, and 4 — that if passed will change vital parts of the state's voting laws and procedures.
According to an advertising spot sponsored by the New York State Conservative Party, all three point to the corruption in Albany.
"We can stop AOC and her gang from taking over," a party representative said.
Proposition 1 calls for changes to the state's redistricting rules, reports NCPR. The redistricting commission has five Democrats and five Republicans, and members of each party have produced their own maps. The proposition calls for allowing 60% of the legislature, not the current two-thirds, to reject the work of the commission and draw their own maps.
The conservative ad, quoting Newsday, says the provision will allow constitutional protection to count illegal immigrants as residents when drawing new district maps.
Meanwhile, Proposals 3 and 4 "allow same-day voter registration and looser absentee voting," the conservative ad points out, and once again, quotes Newsday, which called them an "invitation to fraud" and a "scam to rig the system."
Proposition 3 will eliminate the need to register to vote at least 10 days before the election, while Proposition 4 removes restrictions on absentee ballots, which now require voters to either be ill or out of the state to request a ballot, which proponents and opponents both note will clear the way to allow universal mail-in voting.
New York state Republican Party Chair Nick Langworthy, in remarks to the Erie County Board of Elections, said he's concerned that New Yorkers will be apathetic about the propositions when it is vital to reject them, reports Spectrum News 1 in Central New York.
"Ladies and gentleman, the back of this ballot, this is a national election. This is of the utmost importance because they're changing the way our elections are going to function," Langworthy said
Proposition 1, he said, is an effort to "knee-cap" the redistricting committee's power.
Meanwhile, Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar said the other two propositions will encourage voter fraud, including through the use of ballot harvesting or ballot stuffing.
"That should be of a great concern to the electoral franchise so we do not believe the boards of elections have shown themselves to be able to handle this type of voting at mass volume," he said.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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