What is the Process?
Referendum: November 2017
In 2017 New Yorkers vote November 7th on Proposition 1. Voters will need to turn over the ballot in order to vote, yes or no. If New York votes “Yes”, delegates will be elected to the convention in 2018, fifteen of whom will be selected on a statewide basis, and 189 of whom will be elected in groups of three persons in each of the state’s 63 State Senate districts. Unless the Legislature decides differently, the elections will be held according to existing rules for elections, with parties, party primaries, and possible independent candidates competing according to established rules.
The delegates would convene the convention in Albany in April of 2019. They may take as much or little time as they need to consider as many or as few issues as they see fit.
Finally, the results of the convention will be presented to the voters for final approval or rejection, in such manner as the convention determines.
New Yorkers will be asked either to approve the convention’s proposed amendments as a whole or one-by-one, depending upon what the delegates decide. Depending upon the amount of time consumed in deliberations, the new provisions may be submitted to the voters either in 2019 or 2020.