When New York state voters go to the polls on Tuesday, they will be able to vote on three propositions in addition to voting for candidates running for office.

The statewide ballot proposals will be placed on the back of the voting card to be voted on. The first two propositions call for constitutional amendments, while the third focuses on money distribution for school technology.

“(These propositions) have hardly been talked about,” said Martha Lacy, a retired Syracuse citizen who has shown concern with the lack of public knowledge of the propositions. It is important for students at Syracuse University that are voting to know about the ballots and what they are voting for, she said.

Proposition 1 outlines new state redistricting procedures. After the census takes place every 10 years, district lines are redrawn, said Kristi Andersen, a political science professor at SU. The first proposition will be a new way of drawing district lines. Instead of allowing district lines to be a completely legislative decision as laid out in the Constitution, the proposition would create a legislature-approved committee of redistricting commissioners, she said.

This proposition has been greatly discussed and debated because the outcome determines how district lines are constructed and ultimately has an effect on how political decisions are made and who makes them, she added.

Joan Johnson, co-president of the League of Women Voters of Syracuse Metropolitan Area, said the current layout for redrawing district lines allows for incumbents to remain in office and outside runners don’t have a chance unless the incumbent retires.

“If people vote this down, the legislation will most likely think ‘well they must be happy so we won’t do anything to change it’,” Johnson said. “Others think the proposition isn’t big enough and they want a real, valid commission separate from the legislature.”

There’s a lot of debate on this proposition, Andersen said. Proposition 1 is so talked about that many people don’t even know there are other propositions on the ballot, she said.

Andersen and Johnson both think Proposition 2 will pass easily. Proposition 2 allows for legislative bills to be sent electronically to the state legislature’s office, said Andersen.

“Up to now, according to the Constitution, every bill must be printed and placed on the desks of the state legislature,” said Johnson. By doing it electronically, it not only saves money, but also helps the environment, she said.

The third proposition also stirs up some debate. The Smart School Bond Act of 2014 allows for the sale of state bonds of up to $2 billion to provide money for improving learning and opportunities in both public and non-public schools in New York.

“Thirty million dollar bonds will allow for equalized access to technology in all K-12 schools,” said Andersen, the SU political science professor, “but it’s weird because you don’t bond for things that will lose value.”

By the time the new technologies are paid off, they will be obsolete, she said. Instead Andersen suggests that states should give resources to schools to improve the learning environment. But these resources should not involve the state going into to debt to give every student an iPad that will decrease in value by the time the state is able to pay off the incurred debt, she said.

There is a lot of debate on Proposition 3. Opponents say that because technology is improving so rapidly, it does not make sense for the proposition to pass, Johnson said. However, it is for the schools and the kids, and because of that many people might side with the yes vote, she added.

This one is a toss-up, said Andersen.

Published on November 4, 2014 at 12:01 am

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