New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke at the National Action Network’s annual convention in New York City on Wednesday, and one particular part of his speech was especially noteworthy.

According to The New York Times, Cuomo announced his plans to restore voting rights to parolees in the state by executive order. Introduced by the group's founder, Reverend Al Sharpton, Governor Cuomo noted that when he initially proposed the legislation, the State Senate wasn't on board.

NEWS: Andrew Cuomo just announced that he's granting all parolees in New York the right to vote by executive order.— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) April 18, 2018

It came right after he said the Legislature had voted down such a measure.

"I'm going to make it law by executive order," Andrew Cuomo said.— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) April 18, 2018

“I’m unwilling to take no for an answer,” Cuomo noted. “I’m going to make it law by executive order,” he continued. “With active intervention, we can bend the arc toward justice.”

This executive order will open the voting booths to more than 35,000 New Yorkers currently on parole. The new law would also provide rights to each of the new convicted felons who enter the parole system every month. Newly convicted felons will be “given the consideration of a pardon that will restore voting rights without undue delay,” per a draft of the executive order.

As the gap narrows between gubnatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon and Governor Cuomo, some are suspicious about the timing of this announcement, but the governor's counsel Alphonso David dismissed that Nixon has moved the governor to the left. Nixon is indeed positioning herself as a more liberal, woke candidate, having recently announced her public support of marijuana legalization in the state, specifically stressing the importance of ending discrimination against people of color.

“We’ve been killing ourselves for the past decade to advance the ball forward on criminal justice and voting rights issues,” said David. “And no one should suggest that because we’re in an election season, we’re doing this because of that.”

With the new executive order, New York will join 18 other states and Washington, D.C., who allow parolees to vote.

National Action Network

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