Proposal Number One, also known as the New York Equal Rights Amendment, is the only statewide proposition to appear on the back of every ballot with voting beginning on October 26 and leading up to election day, November 5.
Ulster County has proposed two amendments to the county charter regarding personnel and how appointments are made. Naturally, all Ulster County residents will see this one on the back of your ballots.
There is also a City of Kingston only Proposition to create a 1.25% tax on “the conveyance of interests in real property” in order to create a fund source for the city’s Community Preservation Fund.
And four towns — Olive, New Paltz, Marlborough and Gardiner — each have separate propositions aimed at funding increases for their community libraries. Only residents of those towns will see their particular proposals on their ballots.
Statewide 1 — Equal rights
Statewide Proposition 1 is proposing an amendment to the New York State constitution, straightforwardly telling us that if it should pass, “No person shall, because of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, creed [or], religion, or sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, be subjected to any discrimination in [his or her] their civil rights by any other person or by any firm, corporation, or institution, or by the state or any agency or subdivision of the state, pursuant to law.”
But, you say, doesn’t Section 11 already protect New Yorkers against unequal treatment based on race, color, creed, and religion? Well, yes. But, according to the abstract submitted with the amendment, the proposal will amend the act to also protect against unequal treatment based on ethnicity, national origin, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and pregnancy outcomes, as well as reproductive healthcare and autonomy. The amendment allows laws to prevent or undo past discrimination.
In defense of the proposal, Nora Brickner, Equal Rights Amendment Campaign Director, writing on the NYCLU (New York Civil Liberties Union), says the enhanced protections are needed.“Across the country, politicians are restricting people’s rights and freedoms, including the right to abortion and the right for all of us to be who we are.
“Since Roe v. Wade was struck down by the Supreme Court, twenty-one states have either banned or restricted abortion care. There’s a full-blown assault on trans people’s rights, with hundreds of anti-trans bills introduced — and many passed — in state legislatures across the country just this year.
“We might like to think we’re safe from these attacks here in New York, but the truth is there are dangerous loopholes in our state constitution that leave us vulnerable to the whims of politicians. “And though we have strong laws protecting us from discrimination, we know that laws aren’t enough, because they can be easily changed, as we’ve seen time and again in recent years as political winds shift.
“When we enshrine a right in the state constitution, we protect it from political attacks.”
Cam Macdonald, writing for the Empire Center, which bills itself as “an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in Albany,” argues that the proposition places the administration of the provisions and protections offered in the wrong hands. “The sentiment behind Prop One is good,” he says. “The law should not discriminate against anyone for any reason based on race, ethnicity or religious belief. Nor should discrimination based on sex or gender take place without a very good reason. And every other law that discriminates based on a person’s characteristics should not be arbitrary, capricious or unreasonable. Prop One accomplishes none of those goals on its own.
“Instead, Prop One contains vague language that invites legal challenges to existing laws. And it contains no guideposts for the courts in its application. Prop One elevates almost every class of person to a special status and places those different classes of persons and multiple laws into conflict, leaving it up to the judiciary to make up solutions to those conflicts as it goes along.”
A “YES” vote puts these provisions in the New York State Constitution.
A “NO” vote leaves these provisions out of the State Constitution.
Proposal Number Two — Amendment to the county charter
Proposals two and three are for Ulster County voting residents only, amending the county charter. Number two changes the way certain appointments are made in county government.
You wouldn’t know that from the actual wording of the proposal which reads:
“Shall the amendments to the Ulster County Charter approved by the Ulster County Legislature as Proposed Local Law #17 of 2023, which include revised Charter language and additions recommended by the Ulster County Charter Revision Commission, be adopted and become part of the Ulster County Charter?”
Specifically, as outlined in the abstract submitted (and available on the county’s Board of Elections website at https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/) if it passes, the amendment, as recommended by the Ulster County Charter Revision Commission and approved by the County Legislature requires legislature confirmation of the appointment of Director of Real Property tax Service, County Attorney, Director of Weights and Measures and Director of the department of the Environment; it establishes residency requirements for the office of Ulster County Comptroller and requires Legislative approval of the Ulster County Comptroller’s order of succession, designates the Ulster County Clerk as the appointing authority of the County Historian, and includes the Department of Environment as part of the Ulster County Charter.
These positions, for the most part, are currently appointed by the County Executive.
Proposal Number Three — Appointments to the legislature
Another amendment, again for Ulster County voters only, is a bit clearer.
“Shall the amendment to the Ulster County Charter approved as Proposed Local Law #9 of 2023, providing greater transparency and public awareness and participation when filling a vacancy in the Ulster County Legislature, be adopted and become part of the Ulster County Charter?”
What it doesn’t tell you, but you can read it for yourself in greater depth at the county’s Board of Elections website (https://elections.ulstercountyny.gov/) is that this law would “require public advertisement of a vacancy in the Ulster County Legislature occurring outside of a regularly scheduled election, require a majority vote of the Town/Village Board(s) and or City of Kingston Common Council within the effected Ulster County Legislative District and clarifies if/when the vacancy is to be filled as a special or general election.”
Establishing a Kingston Community Preservation Fund
The City of Kingston asks its voters if it should approve a 2024 local law establishing a Community Preservation Fund with a 1.25% tax on the portion of real property sales that exceed the median price for the year it takes place, which for 2023 was $375,000. The tax would be paid by the buyer.
The proposition reads:
“Shall the local law entitled ‘Local Law 10 of 2024 of the common council of the City of Kingston, New York, to create the clean water, urban agriculture, historic resources, recreation and natural areas preservation fund’ creating a tax, in the amount of 1.25% on the conveyance of interests in real property in the City of Kingston, with the revenues from this tax to be deposited in the City of Kingston Community Preservation Fund be approved?”
If the law had been in place in the years 2021-2023, it would have raised about $2 million, according to Julie Noble, Sustainability Coordinator for the City of Kingston.
With such a fund, Noble said, the municipality must have a community plan. An Advisory Board is established to advise the Common Council about parcels, which are ranked based on criteria that include what natural resources are on the property, wetlands, proximity to a part, if it is historical in nature. If a parcel scores one or higher, it would be eligible to receive funds.
The funds could not be used for infrastructure purposes, only what is specified in the New York State Community Preservation Act.
A ‘YES’ vote allows creation of the Fund.
A ‘No’ vote does not allow it.
Library funding increases
Four towns have their own propositions, seeking to approve increases in their library operating budgets. Only those registered to vote in those towns will see the corresponding propositions on the back of the ballots.
The Town of Gardiner asks its voters if it may increase its annual contribution to the Gardiner Library by $29,434, thus raising its support to $323,765.
The Town of Marlborough has put before its voters a proposition to increase its contribution to the operating budget of the Sarah Hull Hallock Free Library by $9460, to a total of $198,660.
The Town of New Paltz proposes to increase its contribution to the Elting Memorial Library, a Free Association Library, by $48,000, to a total of $769,000;
And, the Town of Olive is proposing to increase its contribution to the Olive Free Library Association from $168,142 to $193,242.
Early voting
Early voting centers will be open for nine consecutive days from October 26 – November 3. Early voting sites are:
1. American Legion, 26-28 Mountain Road, Shokan, NY 12481
2. Midtown Neighborhood Center, 467 Broadway, Kingston, NY 12401
3. Ellenville Public Library, 40 Center Street, Ellenville, NY 12428
4. New Paltz Community Center, 3 Veterans Drive, New Paltz, NY 12561
5. Marlborough Community Center, 1520 Route 9W, Marlborough, NY 12542
6. Saugerties Senior Center, 207 Market Street, Saugerties, NY 12477.
Early voting hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on October 26, 27, 29, 31 and November 1, 2 and 3; and 12-8 p.m. on October 28 and 30.
Check your polling location, learn about early voting, or apply for ballots to be mailed to you directly by visiting Voteulster.com. Many voter resources are now available online. Contact the Ulster County Board of Elections with any additional questions at 845-334-5470.
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