Tenth New York Constitutional Convention (The More Things Changed)



The Tenth New York Constitutional Convention will convene in the state capital of Albany on April 2nd, 2019. The convention will propose amendments to or rewrite the state constitution.

A ballot proposal was passed on November 7th, 2017. Delegates to the convention were elected on November 6th, 2018, alongside other statewide and local elections.

Background
Section 2 of Article XIX of the New York Constitution provided for the automatic referral of the constitutional convention question and outlined a time frame and structure for electing delegates and holding the convention. It reads, in part:

"'At the general election to be held in the year nineteen hundred fifty-seven, and every twentieth year thereafter, and also at such times as the legislature may by law provide, the question 'Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?' shall be submitted to and decided by the electors of the state; and in case a majority of the electors voting thereon shall decide in favor of a convention for such purpose, the electors of every senate district of the state, as then organized, shall elect three delegates at the next ensuing general election, and the electors of the state voting at the same election shall elect fifteen delegates-at-large.'"

Officials and Individuals

 * Former U.S. Senator Al D'Amato (R)
 * Former U.S. Senator Rudy Giuliani (R)
 * U.S. Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-21)
 * U.S. Rep. Zeyphr Teachout (D-19)
 * U.S. Rep. Chris Collins (R-12)
 * Former U.S. Rep. Susan Molinari (R-13)
 * Former U.S. Rep. Bill Paxon (R-27)
 * State Sen. James Sanders, Jr. (D-10)
 * State Rep. Brian Kolb (R-131)
 * State Rep. Christine Pellegrino (D-9)
 * State Rep. Fred W. Thiele Jr (IP-1)
 * Ithaca Mayor Svante Myrick (D)
 * Former New York City Council President Andrew Stein (D)
 * New York City Councilman Joe Borelli (R-51)
 * New York City Councilman Bill Perkins (D-9)
 * New York City Councilman Rafael Espinal (D-37)
 * New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-45)
 * Former New York City Councilman Vincent Ignizio (R-51)
 * Lawrence Lessig
 * Donald Trump
 * Ivanka Trump

Organizations

 * New York State Bar Association
 * New York City Bar Association
 * Citizens Union
 * League of Women Voters of New York State
 * Forward March New York
 * New Kings Democrats
 * Restrict & Regulate in NY State 2019
 * Divide NYS Caucus
 * Mayday PAC
 * Not by a Mile

Officials and Individuals

 * New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D)
 * State Sen. John Flanagan (R-2)
 * State Sen. Diane Savino (D-23)
 * State Sen. Jeff Klein (D-34)
 * State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-35)
 * State Sen. David Carlucci (D-38)
 * State Rep. Carl Heastie (D-83)
 * State Sen. John DeFrancisco (R-50)

Organizations

 * New York Civil Liberties Union
 * Association of Justices of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
 * Concerned Citizens for Change
 * Labor Council for Latin American Advancement
 * District Council 37
 * SEIU Local 200
 * IBEW Local 86
 * IBEW Local 3
 * IBEW Local 41
 * IBEW Local 139

Results


With 54.35% voting "yes" and 45.65% voting no, New York Ballot Proposal 1 was passed. 1,810,153 votes were cast in favor of a Constitutional Convention, while 1,520,395 votes were cast against the proposal.

As described by columnist Jennifer Rubin in the Washington Post, "[A] diverse and ad-hoc coalition of Trump-style conservatives, small-government conservatives, campaign finance reform advocates, and progressive ethics reform advocates helped push the ballot measure to victory."

Delegates
A total of 204 delegates to the constitutional convention were elected on November 6th, 2018. Fifteen of the delegates were elected statewide, while three will be elected from each of the state's 63 senate districts, totaling 189 delegates. The constitutional convention is scheduled to convene in Albany on April 2nd, 2019.

Delegates will be allowed to draft a new constitution or add amendments to the existing constitution. Referring a constitution or amendment to the ballot will require a simple majority vote of the delegates. Citizens would vote on the convention-proposed changes to the constitution on November 5th, 2019, and any approved constitution or approved amendments would take effect on January 1st of the following year.

Apportionment
With 81 seats, the Republican Party is slated to send the plurality of delegates to the convention. Although the 92 delegates were elected on the Democratic Party line, 16 are expected to affiliate with the Independent Democratic Conference in the New York Senate, a group that caucuses separately from other Democratic members of the State Senate and has allied itself with the Republican Party Conference.

The Libertarian Party will send thirteen delegates to the convention, the most of any third party. The Conservative Party and Working Families Party will each send four delegates, the Independence Party and the Peace and Freedom Party will each send two delegates, and one Socialist will be sent to Albany. Five independents were also elected to the convention.