Voter Enrollment Data Shows New Yorkers Reject Republicans
By Mike Connery on 04/09/2010 @ 06:26 PM
Liz Benjamin of the Daily News and Jon Campbell of Gannett's Albany Bureau both report on an analysis of voter registration data that is great news for those who want to reform Albany and reverse 44 years of dysfunction and corrupt deals.
According to an analysis by Bill Mahoney of NYPIRG, 51 of the 62 Senate Districts in New York saw an increase in the ratio of registered Democrats to registered Republicans, and 45 districts now have a higher number of registered Democrats than Republicans.
That has created shifts in the voter-enrollment picture in legislative districts, said NYPIRG spokesman Bill Mahoney.
As a result, Republican senators — Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, and three from Long Island — now represent four of the five districts that used to have Republican majority. Those districts now have a majority Democratic enrollment.
In Alesi's district, registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by 3,201.
The fifth district that switched to a Democratic majority is a seat already controlled by Democratic Sen. Brian Foley of Suffolk County.
Since the rise of the Tea Party, we've already heard a lot about how voters are moving to the right, and we're just around the corner from a Republican resurgence. As the data shows, here in New York, this is more hype than reality.
"It is an intriguing picture, because most of the stories that we have heard for the past year and a half were that voters are migrating to the right," Mahoney said.
"But these numbers indicate that is not as absolute a fact as a lot of people think it is."
The fact is, New York voters rejected Republicans in 2008, and continue to reject them today. New York voters won't soon forget the Republican's 44 year rule of deficits, dysfunction and corrupt deals drove our state to the brink.
Voters are fed up with Albany - poll after poll confirms it. Democrats are taking strides to reform the system - most recently the obviously broken budget process. But change takes time. Democrats have only controlled the Senate for a brief 16 months. It's going to take a lot longer to undue almost a half century of damage inflicted by Senate Republicans. Based on the voter enrollment data from NYPIRG, it seems like voters are willing to give Democrats the time - and strength in numbers - needed to enact reform.
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