New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signs executive order granting parolees voting rights
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo used his executive power to override failed legislation and sign an executive order allowing parolees in New York State to vote in elections.
“In this state, when you’re released from prison and you’re on parole, you still don’t have the right to vote,” Cuomo said while speaking at Al Sharpton’s National Action Network conference in New York City. “Now how can that be? You did your time. You paid your debt. You’re released, but you still don’t have a right to vote.”
The New York Post noted that the “order will cover more than 36,000 parolees statewide” and that “More than half — 54 percent — live in New York City…”
“The governor, a Democrat who faces a primary challenge from actress Cynthia Nixon, said his administrative action was necessary because the Republican-led state Senate has refused to pass a law to restore voting rights to parolees who’ve served their time.”
The Daily Wire Ben Shapiro likened Cuomo’s actions to corrupt dictators: “What would we think of a foreign dictator who, in order to shore up his electoral prospects, simply declared that a class of people who had not been made eligible to vote by the legislature could vote — and oust those members of the legislature? We’d think that pretty corrupt.”
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[…] Cuomo has worked recently to get parolees voting rights, so there no word yet on if Bell will qualify for the midterm election in the fall, more here. […]