Letter: Albany needs electoral reforms
to the editor
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FILE. Letter writer says, What is needed are serious electoral reforms to help build a vibrant, multiparty democracy in Albany. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union)Lori Van Buren
I applaud the editorial, “A vote for change,” Jan. 22, that laments the depressingly low voter turnout in Albany elections as we head into local campaign season. Low voter turnout is emblematic of a broken democracy and, as the editorial mentions, Albany has been a one-party state for a century.
One-party states are not democracies but rather oligarchies. Voters in this city realize elections are largely determined by the still-powerful Democratic Party leadership and that, once in office, legislators largely hew to the demands of the party hierarchy regardless of their rhetoric. Voters are smart enough to recognize that, unfortunately, their vote rarely matters and usually choose to stay home instead.