Kesten Campaign Launches Large-Scale Voter Registration Drive
Effort organized in response to opponent’s proposed voter ID legislation
LEWISBORO, NY: On Wednesday, August 15, the Kesten campaign will canvass multiple towns in SD40 to register people to vote in time for the September 13 primary. The effort is being organized in response to Kesten’s opponent, Terrence Murphy, who sponsored Senate Bill S298, which would require all New Yorkers to present government-issued photo IDs at polling sites.
Voter identification laws face widespread opposition from Democrats and civil rights groups, who argue that the legislation discriminates against minorities, the disabled and the homeless, while also leading to voter suppression. According to the ACLU, “Voter ID laws deprive many voters of their right to vote, reduce participation, and stand in direct opposition to our country’s trend of including more Americans in the democratic process.” The ACLU reports that 11% of American Citizens do not have a government issued photo identification.
Furthermore, a 2014 U.S. Government Accountability Office study found that strict photo ID laws reduce voter turnout by 2-3 percentage points, which translates into tens of thousands of votes lost in a single state. New York would be particularly impacted by these laws due to the state’s poor voter turnout. Despite having the fourth-most registered voters in the country, New York also ranks as the eighth-worst state in terms of voter turnout.
To combat the proposed legislation, Robert Kesten has declared a voter registration day of action on Wednesday, August 15th. Kesten said, “the best way to challenge those seeking to limit our most basic civil right, the right to vote, is to register new voters. Trump, Murphy and others will not stop us. Our campaign will register voters across the 40th Senate District and fight for expanded voting rights for all Americans.”
Volunteers will be active throughout the district, signing up new voters in time for the September 13th Democratic primary. Anyone interested in participating can sign up here. Kesten supports Early Voting, Same Day Registration and No Excuse Absentee Ballots.
About Robert Kesten
Over the course of a decade, Robert has been a consultant for PDHRE, the organization behind the United Nations Decade on Human Rights Education. Previously, he ran the Center for Screen Time Awareness in Washington, DC, where he advocated for a FCC Task Force on the impact of screened media on children’s health.
He has been actively engaged in government at the local, national, and international levels. A Democratic District Leader in the Town of Lewisboro, he has worked with U.S. Senators Tom Daschle, Harry Reid, and Paul Simon as well as for NYS Senate Minority Leader Manfred Ohrenstein, where he was also active in the NYS Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
His international efforts include advising the U.S. government during the break-up of the Soviet Union. He was also engaged in encouraging democratic institutions during the Arab Spring in both Egypt and Tunisia and last year worked to assist Mountain View, California (home to Google) on becoming a Human Rights City.
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