Election officials will automatically mail New Yorkers a postage-paid absentee ballot application during the coronavirus pandemic, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said Friday.
“We’re making great progress to flatten the curve and decrease the spread of infection, but we don’t know when this pandemic will end and we can’t put democracy on hold,” he stated.
“I am issuing an Executive Order to ensure every New York voter automatically receives a postage-paid application for an absentee ballot because no New Yorker should have to choose between their health and their right to vote,” the governor continued.
Recently, Cuomo also issued an executive order allowing residents to vote absentee in the June 23 primary election, the announcement noted.
However, the New York GOP called the move an “illegal and unconstitutional political power grab that will severely undermine the integrity of our elections,” according to Breitbart News.
“The ‘never let a crisis go to waste’ mentality has permeated the Governor’s office and Cuomo is using this pandemic as a reason to expand his powers and force his political agenda through,” said chairman Nick Langworthy.
He continued:
There have been numerous cases across the country that should serve as a grave warning sign for the potential problems: ballot harvesting, ballots arriving late, ballots going to the wrong or old address, more than one ballot being delivered and bins of ballots that were never delivered. I have spoken directly to Boards of Elections commissioners from across the state of New York who oppose this order and characterize it as an impossible task.