OPINION: New York deserves universal mail balloting

Elizabeth Crowley is a candidate for Queens borough president and a former city councilmember. Photo by John McCarten/City Council

By Elizabeth Crowley

The COVID-19 pandemic has created existential crises across all facets of our lives, with the most serious and obvious consequences affecting our health care and economy. However, the unprecedented times have also affected our democracy, where we have seen voters turn out for important races in states like Wisconsin with masks and gloves, risking their lives to exercise their constitutional voting rights. We have to do better. We need universal vote-by-mail—and it needs to be permanent.

As a candidate for Queens borough president, I saw our own election upended by the coronavirus, as the special election was suspended during the second day of early voting. This situation created confusion and forced policymakers to weigh democracy against the health of the public. But in reality, this is a false dilemma: a vote-by-mail system would ensure that we maintain our democracy while also shielding voters and poll workers from this and future public health emergencies.

Governor Cuomo deserves plaudits for acting to transition New York’s absentee program into a no-excuse system. This will allow voters in Queens and throughout the state to exercise their rights safely and securely through the mail. Moreover, I am glad that the governor has pushed to make the June 23 primaries vote-by-mail, where New York will send all registered voters a ballot application. While I do remain concerned about safety at polling places, I have confidence the governor will continue to lead in this respect.

While these steps are needed for as long as COVID-19 continues to be a major pandemic, we need to prepare for a post-coronavirus society—and I would take it one step further. New York should permanently implement vote-by-mail, where the state automatically mails ballots to all eligible registered voters. This would not only be good for democracy but also show that we can accomplish positive outcomes coming out of a generational tragedy. 

In fact, a universal vote-by-mail election would not be unprecedented. Colorado, Hawaii, Oregon, Utah, and Washington State already employ this method for every election, while California is already well underway in transitioning to such. The three states that have had this system the longest—Colorado, Oregon, and Washington—all experience higher turnout than the country at-large.

When New York City voters get their ballots in a few weeks, I believe that voters will appreciate the ease in making their voices heard. Our state has made great progress in the past two years in updating our draconian balloting laws, but now we have an excellent opportunity to be a leader in vote-by-mail, implementing a system that makes it easier for all registered citizens to vote in an extremely secure manner.

While Washington, DC continues to act slowly in crafting remedies to fix our existential public health and economic crises, New York can lead by example and show the country that our democracy will not be paralyzed. Permanent vote-by-mail elections would simplify the balloting process, while also having the added benefit of increased turnout, financial savings, and the protection of public health. 

Elizabeth Crowley is a candidate for Queens borough president and a former city councilmember.