More Candidates

The guiding philosophy behind Unite NY is More Voices, More Choices, and the only way that mantra comes to life is by changing New York’s burdensome ballot access laws that purposefully block the number of candidates that can attain a spot on the ballot.

Thanks to legislation passed a few years ago, New York’s major parties, and the bosses who run them, have successfully kept minor parties off the ballot, stiff-arming candidates whose only aim is to represent the needs of their potential constituents.

In order to achieve a fairer, more open state government, voters need choices that go beyond two options offered by the state’s major parties. Voters deserve to choose between candidates they select, not those chosen behind closed doors, because doing so often leads to voters having to choose between the lesser of two evils. Sadly, all too often that choice only encourages them to stay home, perpetuating New York’s two-party doom loop.

The need for change is urgent, as 3 million New Yorkers are now unaffiliated with either major party in New York. This group of unaffiliated, or “independent” voters, is now the second largest voting bloc in the state, ahead of the Republican, Working Families and Conservative parties.