Ida B. Wells

The 5 Ws of Voting
Election 2024

The League of Women Voters have an excellent site, vote 411, that provides information state by state regarding Who do I contact for voting information? What is on my ballot? Where can I vote? When should I register and vote by? and Why is it important to vote? Please check this site as some states have already begun early voting.

State Elections

Legislative races in 44 states will be conducted in November 2024. These include races in 87 of the nation’s 99 legislative chambers. No legislative races will be held in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey or Virginia because they hold state elections in odd-numbered years; in Alabama and Maryland, all legislators in both chambers run on four year-terms that coincide with midterm elections. Contact your state’s government site to confirm who represents you in your statehouse or USA.gov.

Republicans control the Senate in 29 states, Democrats have control of 20. In Alaska, power is shared via a bipartisan coalition. There are currently 23 Republican and 17 Democratic trifectas, where a single party holds the governorship and controls both chambers of the state legislature.

Republicans control 27 State Houses, while Democrats have control of 21. In Alaska, power is shared via a bipartisan coalition.

Initiatives, referenda, amendments, and propositions are on the ballot throughout 2024 in multiple states.

Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade, voters in 6 states have weighed in on constitutional amendments regarding abortion, and the side favoring access to abortion prevailed in every state. In 4 of these states – California, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont – measures amending the state constitution to protect the right to abortion were approved by voters and in the other 2 states – Kentucky and Kansas – measures seeking to curtail the right to abortion failed. In 2024, 10 states will have abortion measures on their ballot seeking to either affirm that the state constitution protects the right to abortion or that nothing in the constitution confers such a right. The states included are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York and South Dakota. The far right has these states in focus , and have used misinformation campaigns to influence the vote. See what’s happening in New York below.

New York State Elections

New York City Residents: Search for your Early Voting or Election Day poll site.

Confirm who your New York State Senator and your New York State Assembly Member is. Also confirm what your State and Assembly districts are.

Democrats have maintained supermajorities in both the state Senate and the Assembly, but Republicans are hoping to chip away at those numbers. It is important to stay informed and support the candidates who represent your views at the Statehouse. Here are the candidates running in the races below.

Losing just three seats in the Assembly held by Democrats would cost the party its supermajority. The state Assembly races to watch for include Districts 4, 11, 21, 23, 40, 46, 96, 99, 107, and 133.

Democrats in the state Senate saw their own supermajority drop by one member last cycle, but they still held onto their two-thirds majority of 42 seats. Any losses this year would drop their numbers into simple majority territory. The State Senate races to watch for include Districts 4, 7, 11, 17, 23, 38, 39, 40, 42, 46, 50, 52 and 63.

Vote Yes for New York’s Proposition 1
New York’s Equal Rights Amendment

The proposal prohibits discrimination based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex – including sexual orientation, gender identity, pregnancy, and abortion rights – by enshrining these rights in the state constitution.

Its Impact

Protects abortion access: Safeguards the right to abortion under the state constitution, ensuring lasting protections based on pregnancy status regardless of any changes at the federal level.

Keeps power in New Yorkers hands: Solidifies protections for civil rights in the State Constitution, keeping decision-making in the hands of the people of our state.

Closes loopholes: Strengthens anti-discrimination laws, closing the gaps that could be exploited to deny civil rights.

The Far Right’s War Against Reproductive Rights for New Yorkers
With Lies and Attacks

The New York Republican Party opposes this measure .Republicans have come up with new attacks on the ballot proposition that would enshrine abortion rights and other protections against discrimination. Others believe this ballot measure has become a battleground in the culture wars. The Catholic Church is joining the fight against reproductive rights for the women of New York.

What you can do

Help the fight against the misinformation campaigns out there by contributing to New Yorkers For Equal Rights. Share accurate information from the various organizations including the New York City Bar Association , The League of Women Voters and New York NOW is a weekly Emmy Award-winning public affairs program .

Propositions 2 through 6
Where did they come from and what do they say?

Proposals two through six would amend the New York City Charter, the city’s governing document. The path to getting these Charter-related propositions on the ballot has been rocky, and resulted in a legal clash between the New York City Council and Mayor Adams. The end result is only Mayor Adams’ proposed Charter revisions will appear this November. The New York City Council has posted their own reflection of Propositions 2 through 6.

Ballot Question 2: Cleaning public property
Ballot Question 3: Additional estimates of the cost of proposed laws and updates to budget deadlines
Ballot Question 4: More notice and time before votes on public safety legislation
Ballot Question 5: Capital planning
Ballot Question 6: Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), film permits, and archive review boards

The State of the 2024 Presidential and Congressional Races

My prior post , It is not in the stars, has the updated Cook Political Report and University of Virginia’s Center for Politics reports on how the toss up races are going.

The presidential race will most likely come down to voters in eight states that remain competitive, 

Respond

Donate to any and all campaigns above. $5 to each campaign is more than enough.  Act Blue is a portal for the Democratic Party. There are a multitude of local fundraising drives that usually involve meeting the candidate in person or by Zoom.

Volunteer in a local campaign or a campaign in another state. This includes, but not limited to, registration drives, canvassing, phone banking, text banking, post card and letter writing

Join National Networks whose focus is on getting out the vote:
League of Women Voters
Rock The Vote

The following organizations let you decide who to communicate with: battleground state voters, a particular campaign, specific congressional races, etc. You, yourself, can organize post card and letter writing “parties”. They’re a good way to work together and network at the same time. 
Vote Forward
Postcard to Voters
Postcards to Swing States

Join National Networks whose focus is on electing local politicians:
Indivisible
Move On

NEXT POST: The status of the Presidential, Congressional and Senate races. Legal strategies Republicans are using to intimidate local election officials and challenge the election results.