The following is a letter from the New York State Press Association in response to a provision in Gov. Cuomo’s state budget that would eliminate the requirement to publish proposed constitutional amendments in local newspapers prior to an election. Instead, those proposals would only be published on government websties.
Memorandum of Opposition
Repeal of Newspaper Publication of Proposed Constitutional Amendments
Public Protection and General Government Article VII Bill, Part F
A.3005/S.2005
We are strongly opposed to the governor’s proposal to eliminate newspaper public notice of proposed constitutional amendments.
Instead of publishing public notices, the board of elections would post an abstract and brief description of the proposed amendment somewhere on its website for three days in the week prior to the election. The secretary of state would also post a notice somewhere on its website once per month for three months.
At a time when there is general agreement that there is a need to increase transparency and accountability in state government, it is astounding that this provision is included in a budget bill. Among the many reasons this is a very bad idea are:
• By all accounts, broad swathes of New York State lack access to modern Internet service. Governor Cuomo has recently unveiled a proposal to begin to narrow this digital divide, and has said it will take major investment over the course of several years. This proposal disenfranchises voters in rural areas, voters who cannot afford a home computer with broadband access, and a significant number of voters who are not highly computer literate.
• This proposal assumes that New York voters sift through state agency websites when looking for news that affects them. They do not. They turn to a local newspaper. Existing law requires that constitutional amendment notices be disseminated through a newspaper in each county of the state. Most of these newspapers land on voters’ doorsteps. Obscure and little-known state agency websites do not.
• This proposal will not save money. Time after time, when advocating for legislation that would require government agencies to post information on their websites, we have been told it is too difficult or expensive. To ensure a tamper-proof publication of these most vital legislative initiatives would cost money, perhaps much more than the legislation estimates will be saved by eliminating newspaper public notice of amendments.
• Newspaper publication keeps everyone honest. Knowing that a government document must be published by an outside entity helps prevent the possibility that such an important notice could be slanted or misstated. A state supreme court judge ruled in 2014 that the state board of elections included misleading language in its description of one proposed constitutional amendment.
• Newspaper publication provides a historic record. Government websites may not be maintained long term. Newspapers are preserved in libraries and newspaper archives for posterity.
• The governor has called for a constitutional amendment to strip public pensions from legislators convicted of crimes, and yet this bill supports making the proposed language available only on obscure websites few voters will ever see.
The proposed legislation says it will save $342,000. Total paid newspaper circulation in New York is approximately 8.6 million, and there are more than 10 million registered voters in New York State, so the proposal saves about three pennies per voter. This doesn’t seem like very cost-effective government.
Michelle K. Rea
Executive Director
New York Press Association/ New York Press Service
To register your dissatisfaction with the governor’s plan, contact his office by phone at 518-474-8390 or by writing to this address:
The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo
Governor of New York State
NYS State Capitol Building
Albany, NY 12224
