BOE Busts Constitutional Convention Voting Myth

LIVINGSTON COUNTY – The Board of Elections is dispelling a myth spreading on social media about the upcoming vote on the New York State Constitutional Convention.

Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner David DiPasquale said that misinformation is rampant about one question that will appear on November ballots: ‘Shall there be a convention to revise the Constitution and amend the same?’ The Board of Elections wants to make amply clear that a person who does not vote at all does not influence the likelihood of a Constitutional Convention.

“There is information going around that by not voting, voters essentially cast a ‘yes’ vote for the Constitutional Convention,” said DiPasquale. “‘Yes’ votes count as ‘yes, there should be a Constitutional Convention.’ ‘No’ votes count as ‘no, there should not be a Constitutional Convention.’ If you don’t vote, that counts as ‘under voting,’ and does not count as a ‘yes’ or a ‘no.'”

DiPasquale emphasized that voters have the right to vote as they wish.

“Everybody has the right to under vote,” said DiPasquale. “People do it all the time when they vote for only two candidates when three seats are up. We just want our voters in Livingston County to know that they have the right to under vote.”