As record numbers of New Yorkers vote by absentee ballot in the upcoming Nov. 3 election, many have been dismayed to learn that they need to pay for postage in order to return their ballot. Legislators and advocates gathered virtually on Thursday, Oct. 22, to criticize what they call another de facto poll tax on voters. The discussion was led by State Senator James Sanders Jr., Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, and Dr. Hazel N. Dukes from the NAACP NYS Conference.

The group were also joined by Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal, State Senator Kevin Parker, New York Civil Liberties Union, Jamaica Branch of NAACP, and Democratic nominee for NYS Assembly, Khaleel Anderson.

The legislation (A2327/S8004) would simply require the Board of Elections to provide a return postage guaranteed envelope with absentee ballots, in the future. This was stipulated under executive order of Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the June 23 New York primary election, as reported by Norwood News, but there was no similar order implemented for the Nov. 3 general election.

The legislation was first introduced in 2015 by Dinowitz and was picked up by Sanders to carry in the State Senate. Dinowitz also introduced separate, temporary legislation to expand the parameters of absentee voting in June 2020 ahead of the State primary, as reported by Norwood News.

State Senator Alessandra Biaggi was the lead sponsor on the latter bill in the senate which expanded the option to vote by mail to the majority of voters, rather than just limit it to those who were in the military or otherwise ill or incapacitated, and therefore unable to vote in person. There is a proposed amendment to the New York State Constitution to permanently authorize “no-excuse” absentee voting which could go into effect as soon as January 2022.

Meanwhile, the bill to abolish the mail cost for sending back voting ballots has taken on increased significance of late as many voters are choosing to vote by this method due to concerns about the risk of catching COVID-19 at large or populous polling sites. It’s also been reported that in other U.S. states, especially in poorer neighborhoods, voters have already been waiting in line to vote at polling sites for several hours at a time, causing concerns that voter apathy may seep in and reduce voter turn-out.

Many voters expressed confusion as they received absentee ballots for the November 3 general election about whether they needed to pay for postage, and if so, how much was necessary. Legislators and advocates expressed concern not only about this confusion, but also about the inability for some people to procure a stamp, as well as the financial duress that many people are experiencing during the COVID-19 period.

This affordability point was echoed during a recent press conference by the head of United Bodegas of America, who said that customers are already struggling to pay for basic food items in some of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods, and some people could not even afford to pay for their food never mind the extra cost of paying for a re-usable bag or a paper bag, since the implementation of the recent plastic bag ban on Oct. 19, as reported by Norwood News. (Bodega owners are fined if they do not charge customers for reusable or paper bags.)

The bodega owners said they don’t oppose the ban but suggest somehow revising the law to exclude poorer neighborhoods. He said the fee was also placing bodega workers at risk of threats, violence and harassment from customers, similar to what they went through in implementing the mask wearing rule, as reported by Norwood News.

Regarding the postage cost of mail-in ballots, Dinowitz said it was the job of elected officials as stewards of democracy to ensure that there are as few barriers to voting as possible. “Requiring postage to return an absentee ballot is tantamount to a poll tax, both with respect to the actual cost of postage, as well as the logistical hurdle of purchasing a stamp,” he said. “I am proud to have carried this bill for a number of years and am hopeful that we are able to get it passed as soon as possible so it can be in effect before New York State amends our constitution to allow no-excuse absentee voting in 2022.”

He thanked Sanders for his support in the senate on the legislation, as well as his colleagues and the advocates who joined them both in the call to ensure that all voters can participate in the country’s democratic process.

For his part, Sanders said, “In this difficult time as we continue to battle coronavirus, it is absolutely necessary that we make voting and participating in the democratic process as easy and safe as possible, and that includes fine tuning voting by absentee ballot.” He added, “This legislation will remove some of the confusion and complications associated with voting by absentee ballot like having to go out and purchase postage or not knowing how much postage to use.”

Meanwhile, Rosenthal said the State has a responsibility to guarantee free and fair elections for every single New Yorker who is eligible and wants to vote. “Voting is neither free nor fair if the State requires voters to pay for postage,” she said. “During a pandemic, when millions of New Yorkers will vote by mail to protect their health and safety, it is vital that we remove every barrier to the vote. This amounts to a poll tax: the cost of a single stamp could represent a difficult decision that no one who is barely scraping by should be forced to make.”

Dukes was also critical of the process. “Anytime we put anything in the way that doesn’t encourage citizens to participate in democracy – that is voter suppression,” she said.

The entire press conference can be viewed here.