Reps. Carolyn Maloney and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez both took advantage of New York state’s new early voting options this year, casting their ballots for this week’s elections over the weekend. But their civic engagement efforts didn’t stop at the polls. Instead, both women posted about their experiences on social media—sounding off on the importance of expanding voting access and educating their constituents on how the process works.
On Saturday, Maloney posted a video to Twitter, wearing an “I VOTED EARLY” bracelet, and celebrated the convenience of voting early, even at a location further from her residence than her Election Day polling place. “My job means I have to be down in Washington on Tuesday,” she told viewers, explaining that the decision to vote early instead of absentee was an easy one. “This is so much easier!”
Maloney is a champion of early voting and other election reforms. She wrote legislation enacting New York City’s public financing option for election, and she supported HR 1 in the House, which would make early voting an option nationwide. “Not having early voting is a kind of voter suppression,” she said in a statement, observing the challenges for those whose jobs or personal commitments, much like her own, make it difficult to vote on Election Day.
Anyone unsure of how to follow Maloney’s call to cast a ballot can find all of the answers in Ocasio-Cortez’s short Twitter thread posted Sunday about her own early voting experience in New York City. Down the thread, the freshman Representative linked to resources for finding early voting locations and understanding the measures on each ballot.
“It’s Sunday, it’s easy,” she urged her followers. “Let’s do it, let’s go!”
