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TESTIMONY
Testimony by Karen Wharton, Democracy Coalition Coordinator for Citizen Action of New York, against jungle primaries
1:55:38
·
3 min
Karen Wharton, Democracy Coalition Coordinator for Citizen Action of New York and founder of the New York BIPOC Democracy Table, speaks firmly against proposed "jungle primaries" in New York City. She argues that Black Brooklynites have built significant political power through the Democratic party, and this proposal is likely to reverse that progress by weakening parties, potentially leading to voter dilution for Black communities.
Wharton contends that jungle primaries are a solution in search of a problem and would not address voter turnout, as they focus on non-affiliates rather than the millions of registered Democrats who don't vote. She references a recent panel where people of color representatives unanimously suggested keeping the current ranked-choice voting (RCV) system without changes for a period, as voters are still grappling with RCV.
Karen Wharton
1:55:38
Good evening, everyone.
1:55:40
My name is Karen Wharton.
1:55:42
I'm the democracy coalition coordinator for Citizen Action of New York.
1:55:47
I'm also the founder of the New York BIPOC democracy democracy table.
1:55:52
Much of my work is focused on taking money out of politics, expanding and protecting voting rights, and looking at voting rights reforms through a racial justice lens.
1:56:03
Most importantly, though, I'm a proud black Brooklynite who's lived here for the over thirty years.
1:56:11
I'm here tonight because I care deeply about democracy, but I also know what it looks like when democracy is taken away from communities like mine.
1:56:20
That is why I am speaking firmly against the proposed jungle primaries, that is before us in New York City.
1:56:28
Let's look at the numbers.
1:56:30
Brooklyn is home to over 930,000 black residents.
1:56:36
That's more than one third of the entire black population of New York State.
1:56:40
In Central Brooklyn districts like East Flatbush, Brownsville, Crown Heights, and Bed Stuy, Black residents make make up between 6080% of the population.
1:56:53
Brooklyn also has over 1,100,000 registered Democrats, the highest of any borough, and black voters are the cornerstone of that Democratic, base.
1:57:05
Why does this matter?
1:57:07
Black Brooklyn has helped build this Democratic party, Shirley Chisholm, Winna Clark, and, yes, Eric Adams.
1:57:15
It is through the Democratic party that we have acquired we've built and acquired political power.
1:57:21
And because primaries are where parties choose their candidates, the propose the proposal is very likely to reverse this, the power that we've been building, by weakening the parties, and this would weaken black power in Brooklyn and perhaps will result in voter dilution.
1:57:39
Furthermore, jungle primaries in New York City is a solution in search of a problem because it certainly would not address voter turnout.
1:57:50
Here is why.
1:57:51
There are approximately 3,000,000 registered Democrats in New York City, yet we consider it a great day when 1,000,000 of them turn out to vote.
1:58:01
But the solution that is being proposed is not directed at those 2,000,000 Democrats who stay home.
1:58:08
This proposal is focused solely on nonaffiliates.
1:58:12
So then the question is, whose turnout are you hoping to improve?
1:58:17
Folks, let's not trade real progress for false promises.
1:58:23
Let's protect the power we fought so hard in New York to build.
1:58:28
Ordinary New Yorkers aren't asking for this.
1:58:31
Recently, I served on a panel ordinary New Yorkers who aren't in the room.
1:58:37
Recently, I served on a panel hosted by New York City votes.
1:58:42
The panelists, all people of color representing communities of color, were asked about improvements, the RCV, and the changes.
1:58:50
We unanimously suggested that the current system be kept in place without changes for a period of time.
1:58:59
Voters today are still grappling with RCV.
1:59:03
I know this because I'm a RCV advocate.
1:59:07
I'm also an education organizer around RCV.
1:59:11
So now is not the time to make change unless you want to further depress turnout.
1:59:18
I believe in democracy.
1:59:19
I believe in real reform, which is why, as I mentioned, I advocated for RCV in 2019 and 2021.
Sharon Greenberger
1:59:26
But this reform is
Karen Wharton
1:59:28
not suitable for New York City.
1:59:30
Thank you so much.
1:59:32
On queue.
Sharon Greenberger
1:59:32
Thank you so much.
1:59:34
Appreciate it.