Everything you need to know to be an informed voter.

June Voter services Report | Schenectady Board of Education Candidate Forum | The SAVE Act | May 2025 Voter Services Report | April 2025 Report | Running for Political Office |  Voter Publications | How We Elect Our Representatives | Candidate Forum Policy | Links to Local Boards | City Council and Town Board Meetings | Schenectady County Legislature Meetings | State-Wide Politics and Financial Disclosures

June Voter Services Report

As of now, the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility), promising tectonic shifts in who, how, and when people may register to vote, is wending its way through the U.S. Senate. Its passage and implementation – whether all or in part – will affect our League’s core mission of registering voters. At the same time, our identity is being challenged from another front: New York State is considering automatic voter registration for all eligible voters. The passage of either, or both, will surely change what we do and how we do it.

While we understand the purpose of the SAVE Act is to restrict voting rights, and the purpose of New York’s move to automatic registration is to expand those rights, the implication for our work is the same – how do we shift from registering voters to educating and giving them the tools they need to make the best choices for them and their families?

It's a cliché (maybe worse) but each endeavor starts with one step. I arrived at the Schenectady Greenmarket on May 25, with VR forms in English and Spanish, a poster on the SAVE Act, information about the June primaries and a list of offices throughout Schenectady County that are on the ballot this fall. Scotia-Glenville’s school budget failed to pass, so I added copies of a recent Daily Gazette article that details the process for passing a new budget or reintroducing the old one.

The results? A couple from Scotia was happy (startled) to get an article with information about the June budget vote; others were informed about the SAVE Act; some were glad to see the county’s election information; and others took forms to join the LWV or jotted down the LWVUS website. Riley Hart, UniteNY, brought palm cards and talked to marketgoers about UniteNY’s proposals to revise some of New York’s voting laws.

The highlight was meeting a teacher from Mont Pleasant Middle School who wanted materials about voting. Her goal is to prepare a civics lesson for next fall and asked to work with us on a voter registration event at the school, so parents can register to vote. She left with sample VR forms in English and Spanish, a cheat sheet for filling out the forms, four “First Vote” pamphlets and my email address so we can coordinate in the new school year. And, we got two new voters.

Joan Fucillo
Voter Services

Back to Top

Schenectady Board of Education Candidate Forum

The League of women voters of Schenectady County held a Board of Education candidates forum.  In case you missed it or want to see it again, you can watch the YouTube recording.

The NAACP and LWV Schenectady County collaborated on a virtual candidate forum which is available on NAACP's Facebook page.

Back to Top

The SAVE Act Makes it Much Harder to Register to Vote

The SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) is up before Congress. The act is based on the idea that noncitizens are voting in droves. They are not; it is illegal; and there is almost no evidence to support this.

The SAVE Act requires proof of citizenship to register, but few IDs qualify

• A valid passport qualifies because it is a government photo ID with proof of citizenship
• No passport? Need government photo ID + birth certificate
• Birth certificate doesn’t match photo ID (changed name upon marriage)? Need government photo ID + birth certificate + name change document
• Only some Real IDs and military IDs qualify; tribal IDs do not

Under the SAVE Act,

• Voters must register in person at a government office
• Voters must re-register in person if they’ve moved
• Voters must re-register in person if they want to change their name
• Voters must re-register in person if they want to change political parties
• Many people in rural areas would have to travel long distances to register to vote
• People who rely on public transportation may find that the closest government office is a mile or more away from the nearest bus stop.
• Private individuals are allowed to challenge election workers, who could face lawsuits or criminal charges
• Upon passage, the SAVE Act would take effect immediately

Say “NO” to the SAVE Act

Back to Top

May 2025 Voter Services Report

As of now, the SAVE Act (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) has passed in the House and awaits Senate action. The act saves nothing – there is no evidence of voter fraud as claimed by proponents of the act – but it does make registering to vote much more difficult. (We’ve included a SAVE Act ‘cheat sheet’ in this Bulletin, which lists provisions of the act most likely to affect average citizens.)

The Senate may, or may not, act on this legislation in the coming weeks. It may also make its own changes to the bill, accept some provisions, reject others, and pass a watered-down version to be considered by the House. If the House agrees, it is likely that, at a minimum, part of the current bill’s provisions will become law. If a Senate-revised bill does not pass the House in its second round, people who care about voting and voting rights – the bedrock of our democracy – may feel relieved. But don’t. However this plays out in Congress at the present, the SAVE Act is now part of a national conversation about who gets to vote and who does not. It’s a conversation that may be with us for a long time.

Among other barriers, the act requires in-person-only registration at a government office. This can be burdensome for people who work full-time, live far away, lack transportation, or who cannot easily return to complete their registration if they forget one of the required documents.

This provision also puts the League and similar nonprofits in the crosshairs: we will no longer be able to go out into our communities to help people register to vote.

For over a century, the League has put voter services – registration, education, and voting information – at the core of its mission. It is incumbent on the League to not only fight against the passage and implementation of this act, but also to think strategically about how we continue to serve the voting public if registering voters is off the table. How do we support voters and voting rights, help people navigate the revised registration process, and ensure that people have access to nonpartisan, fact-based voting information? That discussion needs to start now.

Youth Grant Update (or, the Good News): We registered 117 new voters at Schenectady and Mohonasen High Schools, with student leaders’ invaluable help. At Schenectady County and Fulton-Montgomery Community Colleges, we registered 32 more and engaged with many dozens of students about the importance of voting. (They got it.) New registrations in 2025 now total 162 voters.

Thank you, Ellen, Julia, Ann, Elaine, Inge-Lise, Connie, Pauline, Yvette, John, Sandra, and Cindy for your work on the Youth Voter project. And kudos to Ellen, for her terrific work at Mohonasen. She created a model we can use for future youth outreach.

More volunteer opportunities to come! Please keep checking LWV 2025 Voter Registration Drive SignUp.

Back To Top

April 2025 Voter Services Report 

First, thank you to all the members who made our voter registration efforts so successful. As we edge toward spring, we find that the dead of winter wasn’t so dead after all. To recap:

Ellen, Julia and I met at Schenectady High School with Pam DiMezza and her National Honor Society students. Inge-Lise, Julia, Ann and I tabled at SHS on March 5 and 6 with invaluable student assistance. We registered (and pre-registered) 57 voters and sent 5 home with forms. We’ve been invited back next spring.

Cheryl and I met at Schenectady County Community College (SCCC) with Robyn King, director of the college’s food pantry. On March 9, we tabled at SCCC with Robyn and Elaine. On the 10th, Connie and Julia took over. We handed out food pantry flyers along with voter information, and we registered 16 new voters.

Ellen is working on coordinating voter registration at Mohonasen High School (no dates yet).

At each event we brought snacks, stickers and Constitutions, which were big hits with the students. Thank you to all the students who stopped by and talked to us even if they weren’t eligible to vote.  And thank you to LWV-US for the grant.

Just as important as student outreach is our continuing commitment tabling at the Greenmarket. Johanna, Karen, Ann and I tabled on February 23 and registered three voters. New League members Susan and Meghan dove in and took the first shift on March 16, with training and assistance from Ellen and Cheryl; Sandra and Pauline ran the second shift. They registered two voters.

That may sound like a small result for the effort, but it is not. Many of the people at the Greenmarket tell us that they are registered voters. So, our task is to stop them from walking on by engaging with them and reminding them to vote. Strike up a conversation, see if they’d like a Constitution or if they know that three seats are up for grabs on their town board this fall. Explain why that’s important, how it directly affects them. It’s easy (and may seem like self- care) to tune out. But if we engage, and try to make things a little fun, some of them will remember, and pay more attention, and vote.

Coming up:

Fulton-Montgomery Community College (FMCC), March 26 and 27, 11am-2pm outside of Books + Bites

SCCC on April 9 and 10, 11am-2pm, Begley Lobby

FMCC Spring Wellness Fair, April 22, 11:30am-2:30pm (outdoors)Schenectady Greenmarket, April 27, 10am-2pm (outdoors)

Please check the voter registration drive sheet below and volunteer!

Joan Fucillo, Voter Services Chair

Back to Top

Have you ever wondered how to run for political office?  

VOTER INFORMATION PUBLICATIONS:

FIRST VOTE:

English    Spanish

 YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE IN NEW YOUR STATE:

College Students Brochure  

Individuals with Disabilities Brochure

Homeless Individuals Brochure

Individuals with Mental Health Disabilities Brochure 

Individuals with Criminal Convictions and Those Detained in Jail or Prison Brochure

Back To Top

How We Elect Our Representatives

Do you know how we elect our Representatives?  Why not test your skills.

Back To Top