By Georgia Good
The General Election is fast approaching! Early voting is October 25 to November 2, and Election Day is November 4.
There are six proposals on the ballot this year. Read more about each one, and arguments for and against, in this NYLCVEF blog post.
NYLCV urges New Yorkers to vote yes on Proposals 1, 3 and 6. Here’s why.
Ballot Proposal 1: Amendment to Allow Olympic Sports Complex In Essex County on State Forest Preserve Land
What is it?
It would allow the construction of new ski and biathlon trails in the Olympic Sports Complex, in the Essex Country’s Adirondack forest preserve. It also requires the State to add another 2,500 acres of forest land to the preserve. Right now, there are strict rules around construction on state-owned and protected land. This is a statewide ballot proposal because it would change the State Constitution to allow for this construction.
Why do we support it?
We agree with the Adirondack Council’s judgement that:
“The amendment will protect the Adirondack Park and the Forest Preserve (state public lands within the Adirondack and Catskill regions) and its constitutional safeguards, while also allowing lawful economic development of significant Olympic and International competition facilities.
This is the best-case scenario for both the human and natural communities of the Adirondacks: it protects wildlands while the greater Lake Placid region, with its Winter Olympic heritage, continues to host world-class sporting events, drawing athletes and visitors from the region and around the world. New Yorkers get the best of the Adirondacks when wildlands are preserved and communities flourish.”
Learn more from NYC Votes, Gothamist and the Adirondack Council.
Ballot Proposal 3 (only in NYC): Simplify Review of Modest Housing and Infrastructure Projects
What is it?
It would create a faster review process for certain land use projects. Right now, most land use projects must go through a seven-month-long review process (ULURP). The proposal would create an Expedited Land Use Review Procedure (ELURP) for smaller projects, to prepare New York for future challenges like extreme weather.
Why do we support it?
This proposal addresses two major crises that New York City is facing – affordable housing and climate change.
The new process would fast-track and increase the production of affordable housing. See more on this argument here.
Equally, the city needs to act urgently to mitigate the impacts of climate change – from extreme heat to coastal and inland flooding. ULURP slows down minor projects. For example, raising the grade of a public street can be a simple and effective way to promote resiliency in flood-prone communities. But right now, the City can’t elevate a street’s grade by more than a tiny amount without changing the City Map, triggering the ULURP process. This makes it more difficult to protect flood-prone communities with the speed that the climate crisis requires.
The new process, ELURP, would resolve this. Specifically, ELURP would be available for street raisings within the 100-year flood plain up to the Base Flood Elevation (BFE) plus 2.5 feet, to account for the projected 2050 sea level rise.
Another example: ULURP makes it prohibitively slow to buy small homes and other properties from willing sellers in flood-prone areas, impairing the City’s ability to take people out of harm’s way and build resiliency infrastructure. This slows individual flood buyouts, and will impair the City’s ability to implement a broader, workable voluntary buyout program in the future.
Site selections for resiliency, open space, and solar energy generation would be eligible for ELURP. So would acquisitions of small or irregular sites next to City-owned property, for resiliency purposes and voluntary buyouts, within the 100- year flood plain.
Learn more from NYC Votes and Citizens Union.
This would fast-track and increase the creation of both affordable housing and climate-resilient communities. For example, it would be easier to raise streets and buy out properties in flood-prone areas. Site selections for green space and solar energy would also be fast-tracked.
Ballot Proposal 6 (Only in NYC): Move Local Elections to Presidential Election Years to Increase Voter Participation
What is it?
This would move election dates for city offices (for Mayor, Public Advocate, Comptroller, Borough President, and City Council) to the same year as federal presidential elections. Right now, city elections are held on odd-numbered years and federal presidential elections are held on even-numbered years, every four years. Aligning the election cycles is intended to increase voter awareness and engagement. It would require a change to New York State law, too, before it could be implemented.
Why do we support it?
We agree with the League of Women Voters that: “Aligning municipal elections with even-year federal election cycles will address voter turnout, equity, and cost-effectiveness challenges, ultimately strengthening democratic engagement.”
Shifting the local election calendar to align with presidential election years should significantly increase voter turnout and increase representation among those who vote, so voters are more reflective of the city. Other U.S. cities that have enacted this change – Los Angeles, Baltimore, Phoenix, El Paso, Austin – have seen the “benefits of a more inclusive, representative democracy” (Brennan Center for Justice).
The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York highlights that “higher-turnout elections typically come with more investment in accessible poll sites, better training for poll workers, and greater outreach to voters.”
Presidential election turnout is much higher than local election turnout: 60% in 2020 versus 23% in 2021.
Learn more from Citizens Union.
Register to vote by October 25 here.
Find out where to vote here.
Take our Pledge to Vote here.
Georgia Good has been Communications Fellow at the New York League of Conservation Voters since February 2025. She’s a Steinhardt Graduate Scholar in Environmental Conservation Education at NYU, with a focus on climate communications and advocacy. She’s had comms roles at Climate Arc, the Cambridge Centre for Climate Engagement, and Mercy Corps, and has a BA in English from UCL, UK.