Please Vote NO On The State Propositions On This Year’s Ballot

Notes from the October Ronald Reagan Republican Club Meeting

We were pleased to have Mr. Nick LaLota and Mr. Rick Hinshaw speak at out October 2021 meeting.

 Mr. LaLota spoke about the policies and processes the Suffolk County Board Elections has in place to ensure the integrity of the vote in Suffolk County.   Mr. LaLota said an important difference between New York State and other areas that have voting problems is, by law, it is a bipartisan effort.  That fact has one party acts as a check on the other to ensure a correct process.

Mr. LaLota did express a reservation about the absentee ballot.  In New York one has to apply for an absentee ballot.  The application was restricted to people in the military and others who had a reasonable reason to need the absentee ballot.  The ballot was sent by mail to the voter’s address. 

Two concerns with the integrity of the ballot are fraud by coercion and fraud by misrepresentation.  Both can be more easily done with the absentee ballot.

Changes in the voting rules for 2020 allowed for no excuse absentee ballots.  Mr. LaLota said failure to support expansion of the availability of absentee ballots leads to charges of voter suppression.  However, the same rule changes also improve the ability for others to engage in voter fraud.  As one commentator said, if there was a process where the benefits of cheating were high and the possibility of getting caught and punished were low, one can be sure some people would cheat.

Other efforts that are done by the Board of Elections is to purge the voting rolls.  If someone dies in New York State the Dept. of Health notifies the Board of Elections.  That person’s name is removed from the voter rolls.  If someone dies outside of NY state this process breaks down.  Mr. LaLota suggested allowing for an affidavit to declare if someone had died.  Congressman Zeldin and Nik LaLota are working to get this federalized in law.

In Suffolk, signatures on absentee ballots are compared by a bipartisan review.  However, both parties must agree that the signature is suspect.  Mr. LaLota said the Republican reviewers are more rigorous in their comparison of signatures to the signature in the voting roles.

Mr. LaLota said the New York State legislature needs to address the problem of illegal immigrants voting.  Laws like the one allowing illegal immigrants getting drivers licenses.  The driver’s license is one form of proof used to register to vote.  The NY Dept. of State does not share the information on illegal immigrants with the Board of Elections.

Where the Board of Elections has provided clear evidence of voter fraud, that information is provided to the Suffolk District Attorney.  The Suffolk DA, Mr. Sini, has chosen NOT to prosecute voter fraud cases.

Mr. Rick Hinshaw spoke to the Club about the five State Propositions on the Ballot for this year.  The propositions have not gotten much notice in the news media but they can significantly change the political landscape in New York

Mr. Hinshaw urged everyone to vote NO on the first four propositions.  The fifth proposition deals with the courts in New York City.  Mr. Hinshaw said there are reasonable arguments both for and against the fifth proposition.

Proposition One would change the way the districts are established and give the power to the legislature.  In 2014 a redistricting amendment was approved to have a bipartisan redistricting committee.  The amendment was passed to address some of the significant problems that occurred in the 2010 redistricting.   This proposition would change the control of the redistricting to the legislature.   The proposition undoes the effort that tried to correct the problems int eh past.  The proposition gives the Democratic party control over how district boundaries are set.  Mr. Hinshaw urged everyone to vote NO on this proposition.

Proposition Two would give everyone a constitutional right to clean air and water and a healthful environment.  This proposition sounds good but will create a legal morass.  These goals are best addressed by legislation and not the courts.  Mr. Hinshaw urged everyone to vote NO on this proposition.

Proposition Three allows for same day voter registration.  This proposition is an easy pathway to significant voter fraud.   Mr. Hinshaw urged everyone to vote NO on this proposition.  

Proposition Four deletes the requirement of someone having to provide a reason for needing the absentee ballot.  This will create a virtually uncontrolled process for people to get absentee ballots.  Mr. Hinshaw reminded us the 2005 Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by Jimmy Carter and James Baker said “Fraud occurs in several ways.  Absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud”.   Mr. Hinshaw urged everyone to vote NO on this proposition. 

A copy of the wording of all five propositions are attached.  The Report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform can be found at the following link https://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/election_reform_report.pdf