Voters across the State of New York have long expressed confusion over registering as independent voters, but soon that confusion will be eliminated. A new bill (A1819A) sponsored by Northwest Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81) and Hudson Valley State Sen. James Skoufis (S.D. 39), which is now law, will prohibit the words “independence” and “independent” from being used in the names of political parties in New York.

 

New York has an existing list of words that are prohibited from usage by political parties, including “American,” “United States,” “National,”, “New York State,” and “Empire State.” Representatives for Dinowitz and Skoufis said the intent of this list is to ensure that voters are not confused by party names when registering to vote or when casting their ballot.

 

However, media reports have revealed that a substantial number of would-be, unaffiliated voters mistakenly registered to vote as part of the Independence Party, when their intention was to register as an independent, unaffiliated voter.

 

According to representatives of the bill’s sponsors, the Independence Party has long played an impactful role in elections throughout New York, frequently garnering thousands of votes in certain races. In 2020, they said there were more than one hundred State legislative candidates which ran under the Independence Party line, the vast majority of whom also ran on other party lines through New York’s fusion voting system.

 

The Independence Party was founded in 1991 by a Rochester, New York-based group, later merging for a time with the Bronx-based Independent Fusion Party to form the Independence Fusion Party. The Bronx-based Independent Fusion Party had earlier been active in endorsing Rudy Giuliani in the 1989 mayoral election, and again in 1993, according to reporting by The New York Times.

 

According to Wikipedia, the unexpectedly strong showing of Ross Perot in the 1992 U.S. presidential election raised the profile of political independents in the country and led to centrist political parties rising to prominence in many states. It first achieved ballot status in New York as the “Independence Fusion Party” in 1994, and after that election reverted to just the Independence Party again. The Independence Party was affiliated with the Reform Party of the United States, which was directly founded by Perot in 1995, and broke off from that party in 2000.

Representatives of the bill’s sponsors said the new law, signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul on Friday, Dec. 9, and which takes effect on Jan. 1, “will require the so-called Independence Party to choose a new name which does not mislead voters into thinking they are registering as independent voters.”

 

As reported, following the recent November election results, Northwest Bronx Democrats founder, Anthony Rivieccio, who has since announced his retirement from the local political organization, made reference to the Independence Party in a press release following the defeat of the group’s candidate of choice, Republican, Phyllis “Tiz” Nastasio, in the latest general election for Assembly District 80. The race was ultimately won by John Zaccaro Jr., as reported. The Northwest Bronx Democrats have backed other Republican candidates in the past also.

 

Reacting to the bill’s passage, Dinowitz said, “Our number one priority when conducting elections should be to provide clear and accurate information to voters. For an organized political party to call themselves ‘Independence,’ when in reality they are frequently working hand-in-hand with major political parties, I just think that’s not right.”

 

He added, “I’m glad we could take this step to ensure that voters who wish to register without party affiliation are actually doing so. Thank you to Gov. Hochul for her signature and for State Sen. James Skoufis for his strong leadership on this issue in the State Senate.”

 

The assemblyman, at times together with outgoing State. Sen. Alessandra Biaggi (S.D. 34), has backed other bills in the past which have expanded the voter franchise by making it easier to vote remotely, as well as sponsoring other bills on measures taken in relation to voting.

 

For his part, Skoufis said, “A party known for preying on independently-minded New York voters to inflate its rolls should have no place in our democratic system.” He added, “I’m grateful for Assemblyman Dinowitz’s partnership on this important issue — voters have a right to remain unaffiliated and this new law ensures this shadow party can never take away that right.”

 

Editor’s Note: Check out our previous story on ongoing work by the NAACP in The Bronx to increase voting among residents.