Despite progress, millions of New Yorkers believe voter suppression, voter intimidation, language assistance failures, inconvenient polling locations and discrimination in federal, state and local elections still present major issues.
With the state Legislature set to go on summer recess in June, Assemblymembers Yudelkia Tapia, a University Heights Democrat, and Amanda Septimo, a Concourse Democrat, were joined by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and other civil rights leaders at Bronx Borough Hall to rally for the passage of the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York on April 28. The bill would ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and can cast a meaningful ballot — without obstruction. The John Lewis Voting Rights Act failed to pass on the federal level last year, but the state version of the bill, if enacted, would be the strongest and most comprehensive state voting rights act to date.
