Prop 1: Equal Rights on the Ballot

Prop 1: Equal Rights on the Ballot

On Tuesday, November 5, New Yorkers will have a chance to vote on a ballot measure known as Prop 1, which will enshrine equal rights in the New York state constitution. Many New Yorkers still don’t know that Prop 1 will be on the ballot this year, so we at the NYCLA Task Force on Abortion Rights are providing this information to educate voters on the initiative, which, if it passes, will protect fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to abortion access.

While New York state law currently protects abortion and other reproductive rights, state laws can be changed or repealed depending on the makeup of our State Legislature or who sits in our Governor’s Mansion. Prop 1 cements reproductive rights—including access to abortion, birth control, and fertility treatments—in New York’s state constitution. Prop 1 also includes provisions based on pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy, making it a first-of-its-kind framework for securing rights. For instance, Prop 1 would prohibit the criminalization of miscarriage or stillbirth; it protects clinics that provide abortion and other reproductive healthcare, especially in rural areas of New York; it also blocks efforts to prevent private insurance companies from covering abortion care.

In addition, Prop 1 closes loopholes in the New York state constitution to prohibit discrimination against New Yorkers based on who they are, what they look like, or who they love. Currently, New York’s constitution provides protections based only on race, creed, color, or religion. Prop 1 would expand these protections by blocking public sector employers from discriminating against older or pregnant New Yorkers in hiring, promotion, and pay decisions. Prop 1 will ensure that older New Yorkers have access to the ballot box, and it will ensure that victims of domestic abuse can hold their abusers accountable in court. Prop 1 will ensure that a judge cannot take away custody of a child based on its parents’ sexual orientation, and it will ensure that LGBTQ couples who work in the public sector have access to the same healthcare benefits as straight couples. 

For more information on Prop 1, including the text of the proposal, please visit The New York State Board of Elections Website.

By Kate Aufses and Meg Sanborn-Lowing, with thanks to Jenna Lauter, Policy Counsel at NYCLU, for her assistance in drafting this blog post.

The views expressed here are those of the authors, and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of NYCLA, its affiliates, its officers, or its Board.

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