The Questions

We asked candidates the following six questions. You can search for their answers from the Better Ballots home page.

1. In most states, voters must register prior to the actual day of the election. By November 2006, seven states will allow their voters to register on Election Day. In New York State, the deadline for voter registration is 25 days before Election Day. What are your views on Election Day registration in New York State? 

2. Depending on the state, individuals convicted of a felony can lose the right to vote while incarcerated, on parole, on probation, or even permanently. In Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia, for example, individuals convicted of a felony, short of a government pardon, lose the right to vote permanently. In Maine and Vermont a person never loses the right to vote in his or her home district, even while incarcerated. In New York, those convicted of a felony are not able to vote while in prison or while on parole. What are your views on people in prison or on parole voting in New York State?

3. Currently, for the purposes of the U.S. Census and the drawing of legislative districts, the U.S. Census Bureau classifies people in prison in New York State as residents in the upstate towns where they are incarcerated, instead of their home communities. What are your views on the U.S. Census Bureau`s method of assigning residence to incarcerated people?

4. More than 14,000 people are incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws in New York State, most of whom have never been convicted of a violent offense. Over 91% of those incarcerated under the Rockefeller Drug Laws are Black or Latino. What are your views on returning sentencing discretion to trial judges in drug cases? What are your views on alternative programs to incarceration? What are your views on the Rockefeller Drug Laws?

5. Nearly 6 million adults in New York State have a criminal record. More than 200,000 people are released from New York`s jails and prisons each year, most of whom seek housing and/or jobs in their communities. Public housing is generally unavailable to individuals with a criminal record and many employers will not hire individuals with a criminal record. How should the state or federal government address reentry for people who have completed their sentences and are seeking employment and/or housing?

6. MCI, recently purchased by Verizon, is the only service provider that people in prison in New York State can use to make phone calls. People in prison in New York State may only call collect, and the person accepting the collect call must accept Verizon/MCI`s terms. For these calls, Verizon/MCI charges are usually at least 19 cents per minute, in addition to a $3.00 connection fee. For collect calls made from federal prisons the charge is 7 cents per minute. What are your views on this contract between Verizon/MCI and the New York State Department of Correctional Services?