New York poised to pass election system changes

New York will soon join 38 other states offering early voting.  Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie And Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins are making election system changes the first priority now that Democrats are in control of the state government in New York.

The voting reform package opens polls 10 days before election day, puts state and local primaries on the same day as federal primaries, allows 16- and 17-year olds to pre-register to vote, and limits political campaign contributions from limited liability companies.

If Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the bills into law, as expected, they'll go into effect immediately.

Meanwhile, the legislature also moved on constitutional amendments to authorize mail-in ballots and same-day voter registration, which, if ratified, would go into effect in 2021.