ALBANY – Democratic Governor Cuomo’s executive order allowing parolees to vote in elections in New York has come under fire from Republicans.
Assemblyman Kieran Michael Lalor (R, East Fishkill) called the move outrageous and charged it was a way the governor hopes to gain more votes in his Democratic Party challenge by actress Cynthia Nixon.
“Think about this – you are a good citizen, you have never done anything wrong, you pay your taxes, you take care of your family, you do everything right,” Lalor said. “You are going to go out and vote and some convicted felon, in many cases a murderer, someone who has committed other forms of homicide, people who have done terrible things, who have been paroled by the left-wing parole board that the governor has installed – we have seen the last few days they are trying to parole cop killers – those killers, those felons, those violent people who have done terrible things, they are going to be able to cancel out your vote come November.”
Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro, a Republican gubernatorial candidate,
said while he believes in second chances, he believes in the rule of law
and the governor has circumvented the legislative process by extending
the right to vote to over 36,000 parolees by executive order. Molinaro
said the “unilateral action is an insult to the legislature, the
courts, crime victims and the voters” in New York.
