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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Buffalo voters rarely get a real choice in Common Council elections. Our new report examines the Charter Review Commission (CRC) process and more than a decade of election results. Here's what we found:

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The U.S. Constitution was signed 238 years ago today. The opening phrase, “We the People” gets referred to often. But we’re thinking about the phrase that follows, “in Order to form a more perfect Union.”

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Data from our latest VEI shows that support for open primaries is cross-partisan, and it’s not even close.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Independent Voter News named Unite NY one of 10 organizations independent voters should watch. Worth reading the whole list — it's a useful map of where reform energy is actually going right now. www.uniteny.org/media/unite-...

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

New Yorkers can vote for the people who write state law. They can't propose law themselves. No citizen ballot initiative exists here at the state level, and that shapes what reform is even possible. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Ballot access usually gets argued on fairness. There's a participation argument too, and our July VEI data makes it visible. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Familiarity with ranked choice voting in New York tracks almost exactly with where it's been implemented. That sounds obvious, but it has real consequences for how the expansion case gets made. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Meet Ian, one of our volunteers. He joined Unite NY because he saw room for improvement in how New York does politics. RCV is the reform closest to his heart, but what keeps him showing up is watching people across party lines work on this together.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

Independent Voter News recently covered Unite NY's latest Voter Empowerment Index, a survey of 1,667 registered NY voters, statewide. Coverage: www.uniteny.org/media/unite-...

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 11/08/2026

More than eight in ten New York voters say independent candidates should face the same signature requirement as major party candidates, or a lower one. Just 9% back a higher barrier. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Unite NY is taking the NYC clerk and Board of Elections to court. At issue: 23,000+ open primaries petition signatures the city threw out, and whether a judge will review them line by line. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

In much of New York, the primary is the election that actually decides the seat. You can't vote in one unless you're registered with a party. New VEI data on how New Yorkers see that arrangement. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Our July Voter Empowerment Index surveyed 1,667 registered voters across the state of New York. 68% said they want changes to the rules governing who can run for office. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

What a night! Thank you to everyone who came out in Albany on Wednesday to hear David Imamura and Amy B. Marion break down how Newburgh won ranked choice voting—and what it could mean for the Capital Region. And thanks to @fairvote.bsky.social for their support!

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

New York is one of a shrinking number of states with no term limits on its top officials. Governors, AGs, comptrollers, legislators—all can serve indefinitely. And plenty do, stacking up decades of seniority and the institutional power that comes with it. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

LIVE NOW: Our discussion about a roadmap for RCV in Albany: www.youtube.com/live/nkqPxKS...

youtube.com

Unite NY Live Stream

YouTube video by Unite NY

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Reposted by Unite NY

FairVote @fairvote.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Join @unite-ny.bsky.social on Wednesday, July 29 @ 6pm ET for a virtual panel discussion on the voting rights case that brought proportional #RankedChoiceVoting to Newburgh, NY. The panel features David Imamura & Amy B. Marion, lead attorneys in the case. Register⬇️ bit.ly/3RfbhAn

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

New statewide polling out today: 71% of New York voters feel their vote doesn't impact who ends up running the state. Not "I dislike the outcome." Closer to: the mechanism doesn't connect to the result. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

ALBANY: Join us Wednesday for a discussion on Ranked Choice Voting, how it was implemented in Newburgh, and what that means for advancing RCV In the capital region! Tell a friend, and RSVP here: www.uniteny.org/events/the-n...

uniteny.org

The Newburgh Blueprint: A Roadmap for Ranked-Choice Voting in Albany | Unite NY

Join Unite NY for an exclusive panel discussion on Wednesday, July 29, at 6:00 PM at The Argus Hotel, as we deconstruct one of the most significant voting rights victories in New York's recent history...

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

Ballot access laws decide who appears on your ballot each election cycle. It's the most procedural-sounding part of an election and one of the most consequential—by the time you're voting, the field has already been set. NY's rules are among the most restrictive in the country. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

New York runs fully closed primaries: only voters enrolled in one of four parties can vote in them. Everyone else—3.4M+ unaffiliated New York voters—is locked out. Independent voters are now the 2nd-largest voting bloc in the state. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Onondaga County just passed term limits for its county executive and comptroller. Straightforward win, right? For organizers, the real story is buried in the fight over the details — and it's a case study in how incumbency defends itself. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

New York gives you one channel for policy: elect legislators and hope they move. 47 other states give voters a second one—propose laws, and put questions on the ballot directly. NY doesn't have that at the state level. The gap is worth sitting with. 🧵

White background with light blue map of New York state and an overlay of a ballot bar code in light gray on the left side. Red title text: Citizen Ballot Initiative. Blue subtitle text: A Direct Voice on the Issues that Shape our State

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Our latest Voter Empowerment Index has fresh numbers on ranked choice voting in New York—and the interesting part isn't the top line. It's what predicts support. Thread. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Last night Buffalo's Charter Revision Commission voted down a package of election reforms that would’ve given Buffalo voters election reform choices on the November ballot, including open primaries, ballot access, ranked choice voting. 🧵

White background with blue border. Blue icon of the state of New York with a red star over the city of Buffalo appears in the top center. Blue text: Buffalo update. Red text: Three reforms voted down by CRC.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

New York has some of the most restrictive ballot access laws in the country—and our latest Voter Empowerment Index shows voters know it. Thread on what the data says and why it matters for organizing. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

Schenectady: Join us Thursday at Mopco Improv Theater for a screening of the film Majority Rules and live improve of ranked choice voting! Free tickets available here: www.uniteny.org/events/major...

uniteny.org

Majority Rules Screening with IMPROV | Unite NY

The Mopco Improv Theater is hosting an "Actorvist Takeover" in June and July, and Unite NY is pleased to take part.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

Last Thursday, Unite NY submitted 45,000+ signatures in support of a ballot question opening primaries to every registered NYC voter, regardless of party. www.uniteny.org/media/unite-... 🧵

uniteny.org

Unite NY in the News: Open primary advocates petition to force question on ballot | Unite NY

Gothamist reported on Unite NY's campaign to bring open primaries to New York City.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

This weekend marks 250 years of American independence — a radical experiment built on the premise that government should answer to the people it serves. 🧵

American flag flying in front of a black background. Italic text: "Celebrating," followed by bold text: "250 years and one radical idea:" followed by italic text: "that government should answer to the people it serves."

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 29/06/2026

The citizen ballot initiative has something unusual going for it in the VEI data: near-zero partisan division. Worth looking at why that matters for how you'd organize around it. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

A quirk in the NY term limits data worth sitting with: New Yorkers overwhelmingly support term limits—but most don't realize the state doesn't already have them. The reform gap is also an information gap. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

Something the NY reform conversation underrates: ballot access sits upstream of every other reform. RCV, open primaries — both act on the candidates who already made the ballot. Ballot access decides who that is. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

A structural feature of New York's closed primaries that rarely gets named: the people with the power to open the system were selected by the closed version of it. The rules are self-reinforcing by design. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

In much of New York, the November general election is a formality. The district leans so far one way that whoever wins the dominant party's primary has effectively already won. The primary is the real election. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Ranked choice voting usually gets sold as more convenient for voters. The more interesting story is how it impacts candidates—by changing what a winning strategy looks like. A thread on incentives. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

A quiet structural fact about democracy in New York: there's no way for voters here to put an issue on the ballot themselves. Every measure New Yorkers vote on was referred to them by the legislature. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 08/06/2026

A quietly significant finding from our 2026 VEI: most New Yorkers don't know NY lacks term limits. The gap between perception and reality tells you something about how this system protects itself. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

Our site just got a real glow up: refreshed design, easier navigation, and a Voter Empowerment Index page we’re genuinely proud of. Same URL, same democracy reform movement, new style. Visit: uniteny.org

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 02/06/2026

The RCV support numbers in NY tell an organizing story, not just a polling one. Thread on what our 2026 VEI data shows about where statewide expansion is winnable. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 01/06/2026

Worth zooming out on the ballot access fight in NY. The downstream metric reform organizers should be tracking more consistently: uncontested races. Not just whether a challenger could win, but whether one ever appeared on the ballot at all. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Worth naming a structural problem behind a lot of NY reform fights at once: New York has no citizen ballot initiative. 26 states do. Every reform that depends on legislative action depends on the body it would affect agreeing to limit itself. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 25/05/2026

Memorial Day, a time to honor the people who gave their lives in service to our country, and the families and communities still carrying their memory. Today we’re reflecting on our responsibility to the country they served.

Image: Looking over a sailor's shoulder from behind at rows of graves at Arlington cemebery. Text: Memorial Day: Honoring the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice.

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

Worth zooming in on something the NY reform movement doesn't talk about enough: NYC has ranked choice voting, but only inside closed partisan primaries. Roughly 1 in 5 NYC voters are locked out of the election that actually decides who governs. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 19/05/2026

81% public support for state legislative term limits in NY. Zero legislative movement. We've named the problem before — legislators won't limit themselves. Worth pushing past the diagnosis to the actual organizing question: how does a reform like this ever move? 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 17/05/2026

RCV adoption fights tend to rerun the same script. Reform proposed, "too complicated for voters" objection raised, advocates point to data, system gets adopted, voters use it without issue. Worth thinking about why that loop keeps running. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 14/05/2026

Worth flagging a slow-moving structural shift in NY: independents are now the second-largest voter bloc in the state, and the fastest-growing. The closed primary system was designed for an electorate that doesn't exist anymore. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The case for a citizen ballot initiative in NY usually gets argued on participation grounds. Worth zooming out: the states that have direct democracy mechanisms tend to produce different policy outcomes than states that don't. That's the argument that doesn't get made enough. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

30% of New York voters report sitting out a recent election because they believe nothing ever changes. That's not apathy. That's a rational response to a system that isn’t responsive. 🧵

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Unite NY @unite-ny.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

New op-ed: Voice Buffalo Executive Director Tyrell Ford and Unite NY Executive Director Anthony Thomas make the case for ballot access reform, RCV, and open primaries—all currently before Buffalo's Charter Revision Commission. 🧵 www.uniteny.org/unite_ny_in_...

uniteny.org

Unite NY in the News: Why Buffalo New York Needs Democracy Reform Now

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