Malliotakis says non-voters shouldn’t be hit with fines
In the 2016 presidential election, 55.98 percent of eligible voters in New York City went to the polls, according to the Board of Elections. But an effort to increase those numbers for the next election is running into opposition in Albany.
Assemblymember Nicole Malliotakis (R-C-Bay Ridge-Staten Island) has come out against a bill sponsored by Assemblymember Deborah Glick (D-Manhattan) that would make voting compulsory in New York state. Under Glick’s bill, people who are eligible to vote and who don’t vote would be subject to a $10 fine.
Malliotakis said the bill places an unfair tax burden on New Yorkers.
“The right to vote is a privilege reserved for each citizen. If a citizen does not want to exercise that privilege, it is also their right,” Malliotakis said in a statement. “Government shouldn’t be looking to financially hold its voters hostage or penalize citizens who exercise their rights and freedoms. Policies like this are what make voters apathetic and disenchanted with politics.”