New York Voting Rights Leaders Rally at Brooklyn Museum to Safeguard Access and Turnout as Early Voting Begins

With just two days remaining before the start of early voting in New York, elected officials and voting rights advocates gathered at the Brooklyn Museum, a designated early voting site along Eastern Parkway in Prospect Heights, on the morning of Oct. 22 to rally public confidence and urge New Yorkers to cast their ballots before Election Day. The event was organized in response to growing concerns that federal efforts to restrict mail-in voting and widespread disinformation could suppress turnout or discourage eligible residents from participating in the Nov. 3 election. Speakers stressed that while the threats to voting access are real, New York has robust safeguards, a prepared attorney general’s office, and a network of nonpartisan volunteer monitors ready to ensure every valid vote is cast and counted. With early voting running from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1, and Election Day falling on Nov. 3, officials are encouraging voters to avoid long lines, plan their trips to the polls, and treat voting as both a civic duty and a communal act of solidarity. The message was urgent and optimistic: despite the chaos and misinformation swirling around the election, New Yorkers have the power to make their voices heard, and no one should let fear or confusion stand in the way.

Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/NY, took the stage to explain that hundreds of trained volunteers with the nonpartisan Election Protection coalition will be deployed across New York state throughout the early voting period and on Election Day. These volunteers will observe the voting process, protect voters’ rights, answer questions, and help resolve problems in real time at polling sites, while digital poll monitors will simultaneously watch social media to assist voters, correct false claims, and flag misinformation and disinformation as it emerges. Lerner emphasized that the sheer volume of disinformation circulating in the 2020 election is a sign that the vote is consequential. “If your vote wasn’t so important, they wouldn’t be trying so hard to mess with it,” she said, urging New Yorkers to ignore the noise and make a plan. “Don’t let the disinformation prevent you from making your voice heard. Make a plan. Bring a friend or family member. Make it a social occasion to vote together, and let’s get out the early vote.” Her comments underscored a central theme of the morning: voting should not become a solitary, confusing chore but rather a shared civic event that builds community and reinforces democratic participation, particularly in neighborhoods where turnout has historically been low.

New York State Attorney General Letitia James delivered an emphatic message that “your vote is your voice” and called on every eligible New Yorker to participate in the democratic process, especially in parts of Brooklyn where past turnout has been “dismal.” James noted that residents cannot afford to stay home, particularly in a moment when the nation is facing profound challenges, and she framed voting as both a responsibility and a remedy to political frustration. Her office, she said, has spent months preparing for potential problems during early voting and on Election Day, including disputes over mail-in ballots, voter ID demands, affidavit ballots, inaccessible polling sites, and confusion about where people are supposed to vote. The attorney general said she is also prepared to respond to reports of voter intimidation, such as individuals falsely demanding identification at polling places, and the potential presence of law enforcement agencies, including ICE or the FBI, at or near voting sites. “We are prepared for any scenario,” James said, adding that her office had reached out to social media CEOs and their legal counsel to address online misinformation that sows doubt about the integrity of the election. She acknowledged the widespread fears many voters are carrying into the voting booth: “There are individuals who believe that their mail-in ballot will not be counted. There are individuals who are concerned that ICE agents might show up at their polling site asking for their identification and/or interrupting or disrupting traffic. There are so many fears and concerns right now that it’s important that the Attorney General and all the individuals who are here today, that we are prepared for the possibility of these concerns.”

State Senator Zellnor Myrie reinforced the message of legal protection, reminding voters that both federal and state laws prohibit anyone from intimidating, obstructing, deceiving, or preventing people from voting. He promised that anyone who attempts to interfere with the fundamental right to vote will face legal consequences. “Any person who tries to prevent you from exercising that right is going to have to answer to this attorney general standing right behind me,” Myrie said. “So when you vote, do so with confidence. We got your back. The law has your back.” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams expanded on that sentiment, directing his remarks to frustrated and discouraged voters who feel they have not seen the change they voted for in previous elections. He described the right to vote as a “tool in the toolbox” that must be used consistently to be effective, warning that sitting out an election only makes someone else’s voice louder. “We have to use every single tool in the toolbox if we want to continue to complain about what’s going on, and when you don’t use that tool, it makes someone else’s voice louder,” Williams said. “The fact of the matter is, if it didn’t matter so much, they wouldn’t want to take away people’s ability to vote. They wouldn’t be trying to figure out how to intimidate people when they vote.” His remarks were met with applause and echoed the broader point that the heavy focus on voter suppression, misinformation, and intimidation in 2020 is itself evidence of how much power lies with ordinary voters.

Dr. Debbie Almontaser, speaking on behalf of Emgage Action Metro New York, a nonprofit organization that advocates for Muslim American communities and marginalized people in seven states including three battleground states, spoke about the particular fears gripping Muslim American voters. She referenced President Donald Trump’s attack on Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and said that Islamophobic rhetoric and hysteria surrounding the election are terrifying people in her community and preventing them from exercising their constitutional right to vote. “The Islamophobic rhetoric and hysteria that has been created around this election is terrifying people from going out to cast their civil constitutional right to vote, and it is imperative that we, as neighbors, show our solidarity,” Almontaser said. She urged New Yorkers to stand beside their Muslim neighbors, both in New York and across the country, and to invite them to travel to polling sites together, making voting a communal and supportive experience rather than an isolating one. To further support those communities, Emgage will provide culturally mindful voter protection services in partnership with Common Cause during the final three days of early voting and on Election Day. Almontaser emphasized that having people on the ground who speak the languages of the communities they serve is essential, particularly for voters who may have questions or face confusion at the polls. “We need to make sure that people go out. We’re going to keep battling to make sure that we turn out our people. If people have questions, if they are being turned away, if anything is happening, they’re going to be out there to be able to speak in those various languages.”

As the event drew to a close, speakers returned to the practical details that will help voters navigate the process with clarity and confidence. Early voting in New York runs from Oct. 24 through Nov. 1, and Election Day is Nov. 3. New Yorkers have three ways to vote: early in person, in person on Election Day, or by mail. Voters who prefer to vote by mail can request a ballot by Oct. 24 or pick one up in person at their county board of elections by Nov. 2, and the deadline to register to vote is also Oct. 24. Advocates used the opportunity to remind the public of their legal rights: New York state does not require voters to present a photo ID, and no one can demand identification or proof of citizenship, follow a voter into the voting booth, or block them from casting a ballot. No one may stand within three feet of a voter while they fill out their ballot. Voters who are in line when polls close can still cast their ballots, and people on probation or parole, as well as those released from prison, can vote, though they may need to re-register. Anyone who experiences or witnesses misconduct or problems with their ballot should notify a poll worker and call 866-OUR-VOTE, the national Election Protection hotline, or call the state Attorney General’s Election Protection Hotline at 866-390-2992 between Oct. 24 and Nov. 4. For potentially dangerous or violent conduct, voters should call 911 immediately. For immigration-related questions, the city’s free, confidential Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs Immigration Legal Support Hotline is available at 800-354-0365. More information about polling places and schedules is available at voteearlyny.org. The overall message from the Brooklyn Museum rally was unmistakable: American democracy is strongest when everyone participates, and despite the deliberate efforts to confuse, deter, or intimidate voters, New York is ready to protect every eligible citizen’s right to vote—whether they cast their ballot early, by mail, or in person on Election Day.