NYPEOPLESCONVENTION.ORG THE NEW YORK CONSTITUTION OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 5
During the Depression,
delegates propose an
entirely new Constitution,
but voters accept only 6 of 9
packages of amendments,
including a Labor Bill of
Rights and a mandate that
the state "aid, care and
support the needy."
Voters reject a Constitutional
Convention, but in the
following 10 years, demand
for another convention
to fix and simplify the
Constitution grows.
"If the Convention costs $50 million and delivers
court reform, the state would recoup that cost in one
year... and that's just for starters."
– Peter Galie and Christopher Bopst
of the Rockefeller Institute of Government
Voters reject a Convention
following a well-funded,
fear-mongering campaign
from a coalition of labor,
environmental advocates,
and conservative groups.
April, 1938 - August 1938
Although voters reject a new
Constitution, its provisions affecting
the Judiciary Article are largely
incorporated in a new Article VI,
approved by voters in 1925.
When voters approve a
Constitutional Convention,
it will convene in Albany
on this day.
"Shall there by a Convention to revise the Constitution and
amend the same?" New Yorkers have the chance to call the
first Constitutional Convention in 50 years to address the
many problems in our Constitution that empower party
bosses and special interests at the expense of the people.
Delegates meet with the goal of eliminating obsolete
and confusing provisions. Incredible amendments are
proposed, like a real independent redistricting process
to end gerrymandering. Delegates lump all amendments
into one, take-it-or-leave-it package. Voters decide to
"leave it," and reject the constitutional amendments.
14 - September, 1915
April, 1967 - November, 1967
November, 1997
April 2, 2019
November 7, 2017
November, 1957
“The people of New York can no longer
afford to sit on the sidelines and wait for the
dysfunctional status quo to fix itself. The
stakes are just too high. We must make a
stand now for a People’s Convention.”
– Bill Samuels
“The New York State Constitution was
designed to be amended every
generation.”
– Henry Greenberg,
Chair of the NYS Bar Association Committee
on the NYS Constitution