Cuomo's belated restoration of felon voting rights is welcome, but he's motivated by pure cynicism
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In a surprise move, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he would issue an executive order to restore the voting rights of most of New York’s 35,000 citizens who are currently disenfranchised because they are on parole for a felony conviCuomo's belated restoration of felon voting rights is welcome, but he's motivated by pure cynicism
In a surprise move, Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on Wednesday that he would issue an executive order to restore the voting rights of most of New York’s 35,000 citizens who are currently disenfranchised because they are on parole for a felony conviction. This is a welcome development that will help curtail a policy that is rooted in white supremacy. However, it will still leave tens of thousands of incarcerated citizens without voting rights. Furthermore, by excluding parolees who have committed certain crimes, this solution gives the governor undeserved discretion over who gets to the right to vote. And given that Cuomo’s been in office for over seven years, it’s only natural to wonder why he waited so long to use his executive powers. It’s hard to see this decision as anything other than a transparent reaction to the fact that Cuomo now faces a serious primary challenge from the left from actress and activist Cynthia Nixon, who has harshly criticized the governor’s record on voting rights. Indeed, for years, Cuomo has been a master of cynically doing the bare minimum to placate the left while forever thwarting more substantive reforms. In a true display of chutzpah, Cuomo tried to blame Republicans in the state for blocking a bill to reform the state’s felony disenfranchisement laws. But Cuomo almost single-handedly ensured that those very same Republicans would remain in power by signing off on their extreme gerrymander at the start of the decade and by propping up a faction of renegade Democrats known as the IDC who for years have allowed the GOP to retain control of the Senate. Cuomo has tried his best to appear as if he's a champion of voting rights, but his actions have repeatedly stymied efforts to improve democracy by passing early voting, automatic and same-day voter registration, and an end to gerrymandering. But only now that he and his IDC allies face a threat to their political careers has Cuomo finally begun to take steps toward expanding voting rights. Restoring voting rights to citizens who have served their time is the right thing to do, but if Cuomo wins a third term this fall, expect him to suddenly forget how to do the right thing anymore. Read more