2024 NY Ballot Proposals : Voter Guide
2024 NY Ballot Proposals : Voter Guide
BAJI believes our local votes helps shape the future we want to build together. We can use our votes as tools to address the policies and practices that will directly impact us. NY has important ballot proposals that will affect how city government impacts the daily lives of Black New Yorkers including Black migrants. BAJI Action has taken a stand on the 6 new ballot proposals. This guide helps break them down and tells why we’re voting Yes or No. We invite you to join us in voting to help keep us safe!
Prop 1: Adds new “Equal Rights Amendment”
- (Expands Rights in NYS Constitution)
- Yes on Prop 1
What does it do?
- This proposal would add protection against unequal treatment to New York state’s constitution that says the following:
- Discrimination by city government and agencies based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin (immigration status), age, disability, sex (sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression), and pregnancy status (including abortion) would be prohibited.
- For the first time, NYS constitution would clarify that discrimination based on a person’s pregnancy status and access to abortion is sex discrimination and unlawful.
Why is it important?
- New Yorkers will be able to demand lasting protections via constitutional amendment that would prohibit discrimination against groups who have been historically targeted, including folks with disabilities, LGBTQI+ individuals, people of color, immigrants, women, and pregnant people.
- The federal Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced in Congress in 1923 but is still not ratified into the U.S. Constitution. Over 20 states have an equal rights amendment in their state constitutions, this is NY’s chance to add these protections.
Effect on Black Migrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant rhetoric and policies, passing this proposal that specifically names government discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity and national origin (immigration status) will be considered unconstitutional – and will be helpful in protecting long-resident Black immigrants, undocumented folks and newly arriving asylum seekers.
Effect on Reproductive Rights?
- Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade (which formerly legalized abortion), State Supreme Courts and State Constitutions have become more crucial in the fight to protect abortion access.
- This proposal will be beneficial in protecting the rights of birthing people, especially Black women who have the highest national maternal mortality rates, in the midst of abortion rights being chipped away at the federal level.
Vote “YES” on (Prop 1) to protect our Black and Black migrant fundamental rights and put these protections in the NYS Constitution.
Prop 2: Add new rules on “Cleaning Public Property”
- (Hurts Small Businesses)
- No on Prop 2
What does it do?
- This proposal does not focus on trash reduction but instead focuses on policing and penalizing small businesses and street vendors
- The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) already controls cleaning city streets and other property and has already required waste disposal in containers (containerization initiative).
- However what is new, is that this proposal increases the enforcement power of (DSNY) to increase ticketing of small businesses and street vendors who set-up on highway medians or in city parks with fines up to $200/per violation.
Why is it important?
- New Yorkers deserve a cleaner and healthier city but this proposal does not aim to fix that. This proposal does not address trash reduction or incentivize recycling but instead focuses on going after small businesses which are the backbone of NY’s economy and our communities.
Effect on Black Communities?
- This proposal will not protect the rights of Black small businesses (including food trucks, vendor stalls and street stands) making it harder for our folks to take care of their families, increase their financial security and support the development of more thriving Black neighborhoods. There is no community care in increased policing, enforcement and ticketing.
Effect on Black Migrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant policies, this proposal that specifically names increased enforcement and regulation on highway medians and in city parks will disproportionately target and police Black migrants who have small businesses in these areas–making them even more vulnerable to arrest, incarceration or deportation.
Vote “No” on (Prop 2) to protect Black owned small businesses and vendors from over-policing and criminalization.
Prop 3: Adds new rules on “Estimates of Cost of Proposed Laws and Updates to Budget Deadlines”
- (Weakens City Council and Community Oversight)
- No on Prop 3
What does it do?
- This proposal would amend the city charter to require fiscal analysis from the City Council before hearings and votes on laws, authorize fiscal analysis from the mayor, and update budget deadlines.
- This proposal weakens the ability to for City Council and NYers to have legislative oversight on the lawmaking process
- Allows for the mayor to block and derail legislation they don’t like through the use of repetitive and unnecessary fiscal reviews which delays lawmaking
Why is it important?
- New Yorkers deserve the time to review and respond to policy and budgets pushed by the mayor. (ex: cuts to libraries and Pre-K)
- Delay tactics in the lawmaking process give the mayor time and cover to avoid taking a position on popular policies like affordable housing or childcare.
- *(Bills first have public hearings, then are voted on and passed by City Council before it goes for mayor decision-making in order to become a law)
Effect on Black Communities?
- This proposal will make the city’s budget process even less transparent and more drawn out. Black Communities have long been deprioritized, under-funded and under-resourced. We can’t afford delays on critical policies that can expand opportunity for folks, like increased access to affordable and accessible housing across the city.
Effect on Black Migrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant policies, passing this proposal will weaken City Council and NYers time and ability to push back on harmful policies, like those that limit funding and community engagement around access to shelter, health and mental health services, education and inclusive language access for all people in NY regardless of immigration status, especially for Black migrants.
Vote “No” on (Prop 3) to protect Black engagement in and oversight of the city legislative process.
Prop 4: Adds new rules on “ More Notice & Time Before Votes on Public Safety Legislation”
- (Erodes Transparency and Accountability from Mayor and NYPD)
- No on Prop 4
What does it do?
- This proposal would require additional public notice and time before the City Council votes on laws respecting the public safety operations of the police, corrections, or fire departments.
- This proposal allows for more unchecked power to the mayor and NYPD.
- This proposal will require City Council to notify the public, the mayor and all relevant agencies at least 30 days before the vote.
- This allows for the creation of side hearings by the mayor, NYPD or (DOC) within the 30 days and before the City Council vote which will destabilize the legislative process and skew public input.
Why is it important?
- This proposal creates new, special rights for the (DOC) & the NYPD to block transparency on abusive practices and accountability for officers who are corrupt or violent (ex. solitary confinement, stop and frisk, or police shootings)
Effect on Black Communities?
- We know that community keeps us safe. Time and again we have seen the NYPD, (DOC) and FDNY enforce anti-Black practices and policies that violate our rights and deprive Black folks of a system of care. We continue to face the highest levels of policing, harassment and surveillance in our neighborhoods and with this proposal, it will make it even harder to hold the NYPD and (DOC) accountable for abuse, violent practices and corruption.
Effect on Black Migrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant policies, passing this proposal moves away from what Black migrant communities actually need, which is culturally competent, trauma-informed care via case management, housing, workforce training, Afro-Indigenous language inclusion and access to education and jobs for all long-resident Black immigrants, Black undocumented migrants and newly arrived Black asylum seekers who are fleeing conflict, war, persecution or political violence. Instead this proposal allows for Black migrants to face increased anti-Black policing, violence and discriminatory practices from the unchecked power of the mayor and NYPD.
Vote “No” on (Prop 4) to protect Black communities from abusive and unchecked power of the mayor and NYPD.
Prop 5: “Capital Planning”
- (Pushes Misleading and Bad-faith Measure)
- No on Prop 5
What does it do?
- This proposal would amend the city charter to require more detail in the annual assessment of city facilities, mandate that facility needs inform capital planning, and update capital planning deadlines.
- This proposal focuses on the reporting of only 1% of city infrastructure that’s already been approved and does not add new or clarifying details on city infrastructure planning.
- *(city infrastructure relates to building maintenance and expansion).
Why is it important?
- This proposal is a misleading and unnecessary measure that has been created in bad-faith as it does not provide further credibility, improvement or transparency to the capital planning process in any way.
Effect on Black Communities?
- Black communities know all too well the ways that the government has abandoned us, mistreated us or misled us. This proposal like many in the past is an attempt to bamboozle us and falsely lead us to believe this will create improvements to City infrastructure and the capital planning process for the entire city– where Black neighborhoods are in tremendous need of improvements for housing, schools and city social service buildings. However, this proposal adds no improvements for any community and is therefore false and meaningless. We deserve not to live in suffering from lack of building maintenance and improvements. We deserve better from capital planning but this proposal won’t make it better for us.
Effect on Immigrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant policies, passing this proposal that does not in any way improve the building maintenance and expansion process when Black migrant communities are in desperate need of improvement to shelter, housing, resource facilities is inhumane and wrong. We deserve not to be lied to or tricked into believing this measure will help make the much needed building improvements for us when it won’t.
Vote “No” on (Prop 5) to protect Black and Black migrant communities from a misleading and false measure that adds no improvements to our neighborhoods and no value to our legislative process.
Proposal 6: “Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs), Film Permits, & Archive Review Boards”
- (No Additional Support for MWBEs)
- No on Prop 6
What does it do?
Why is it important?
- This proposal seeks to combine three unrelated offices (MWBE, film permits and Archive Review Boards) under one measure that has no new or added value to support the administration or operation of any of them. This does not help or support NYers.
Effect on Black Communities?
- Black communities deserve more support in securing Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) certifications which increase the securing of federal, state and city government work contracts. This proposal does not help increase the awarding of (MWBE) or support the certification process in any way.
Effect on Immigrant Rights?
- In the fight against anti-immigrant policies, passing this proposal that attempts to mislead us on the advancement of (MWBE) is harmful to Black migrant communities when so many long-resident Black immigrants need support with the MWBE process to increase their business capacity and earnings potential. Black immigrant owned-business deserve the opportunity for increased (MWBE) certification support, so we too can bid for government contracts.
Vote “No” on (Prop 6) to protect Black communities from false attempts at changing (MWBE) certification and Film and Archive operation processes.
Contact BAJI and BAJI Action
For more information on BAJI and BAJI Action please visit www.baji.org and https://bajiactionfund.org
Email BAJI’s NYC organizer Melissa Johnson at melissa@baji.org for organizing and volunteer opportunities
About BAJI
The Black Alliance for Just Immigration (BAJI) fights for the rights of Black migrants and African Americans through organizing, legal advocacy, research, policy, and narrative building to improve the conditions of Black communities by advancing racial justice and migrant rights.
About BAJI Action
BAJI Action Fund’s mission is to advance the rights of Black migrants and African Americans at the local, state and federal level by advancing policies, legislation and ballot initiatives that promote a just society, fully inclusive of the Black Diaspora. BAJI Action Fund also advances its mission by engaging in civic engagement campaigns that mobilize our communities to participate in the democratic process by registering and educating voters and non-voters on issues, candidates and ballot initiatives.