Letter: Keep your hands off NY's minor parties

To the editor Nov. 20, 2019 As a recent editorial ("A good cause, corrupted," Nov. 3) opined, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is effectively eliminating third parties in New York state and cloaking this dastardly act in campaign finance reform.

His state Public Financing Commission is set to increase the threshold for third parties to earn a ballot line from 50,000 votes to 250,000 votes in a gubernatorial race. The only minor political party to achieve this goal recently was the Conservative Party. Gone would be the Independence, Green, SAM (Serve America Movement), Libertarian and Working Families parties. New York state is eliminating competition, and only the governor's appointed commission has a say in the process.

The Democratic and Republican parties have always enjoyed the advantage as the holders of financial and human resources and, more importantly, political patronage. A two-party system encourages partisan divide and, as recent history shows, focuses government on politics instead of policy. Providing only two choices on Election Day will only serve to divide us further into tribes and lower voter turnout in an era when voter turnout is historically low. With so many registered voters disenchanted with the two major political parties, third parties have become a light in the storm for many New Yorkers.

The governor's Public Financing Commission should do what it was tasked with doing: Establish a workable public campaign financing system. If they can't do that without changing the landscape of political parties in New York, they should leave it to the Legislature to do the work.

Barbara Samel (Collura)

Delmar

#newyear #resolutions #old