LID Urges You to Vote “NO” on Ballot Proposal #6

This year’s November ballot includes proposed amendments to the New York City Charter.  Proposal 6 seeks to move municipal elections to even years (eg, 2024, 2026, 2028).  If adopted by New York City voters, the measure would require approval of the state legislature.  

This would mean that our city elections would take place at the same time as either the presidential or congressional midterm elections, alongside our statewide legislative and local party elections.  

And while it may sound like a good idea on paper, it is anything but - and that’s why LID’s members have elected to vote “NO” on this initiative.

Think about how busy this year’s local  elections have been.  The Democratic primary started out with 10 candidates, including disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo and our current, very unpopular mayor.  It has kept us busy and engaged and, most importantly, has given everyday New Yorkers space to speak their minds, express themselves, and engage on a hyperlocal level.  When Zohran Mamdani won the Democratic primary, the former governor refused to do the honorable thing by backing out, and we are now laser-focused on keeping him out of Gracie Mansion and sending him back to Westchester County.  

And that is what democracy looks like.  It should be busy.  It should encourage citizens to make their voices heard, and to get involved in their communities.  But it can’t overwhelm voters who already have limited political bandwidth.  And it shouldn’t overwhelm active volunteers, doorknockers, petitioners and house-party-hosts like us.  

Can you imagine this election happening alongside the presidential and gubernatorial elections, or a nail-biting congressional midterm?  Or during years when we’re pushing hard to elect queer state legislators and district leaders?  If our citywide elections were buried underneath elections with a state or national focus, not only will resources for local candidates be stretched thin, but the waning focus on issues that matter in our daily lives - climate resilience, public safety, affordability, transit, parks, sanitation - will be buried under national issues. Instead of asking candidates what they plan to do to make New York City a safe and affordable haven for queer people, our media will focus on pitting municipal candidates against their state and federal counterparts. 

This year’s mayoral election cycle has been vigorous and at times nasty, but it has accomplished something special by bringing many more people into the fold of local politics, which is typically swept under the rug when national and state elections are happening.  There is no good reason to lose what we have.

Some may say that it's better to have more “quiet” years where little more is happening than judicial elections.  We disagree.  More active election cycles generate a sense of regularity with our election process, not a process that goes dormant and then erupts every four years.  It keeps us knowledgeable and active in politics.  

New Yorkers should be proud of having its local elections on odd years.  It says something about our values - that we want to encourage engagement without oversaturating our voters and volunteers.   

The Charter Revision Commission believes that this change would improve voter turnout, but as Zohran Mamdani has proved, there are many ways that we can accomplish  that without so dramatic a change to our local elections  - and key to that are the efforts of organizations like ours to educate, inform, amd engage voters.

Simply put: vote “NO” on Prop 6.