Kavanagh Appointed Ranking Member of Senate Elections Committee

Priorities include early voting, reforming voter registration, closing the LLC Loophole, and other measures to strengthen New York’s democracy

Will also serve on Banks; Consumer Protection; Corporations, Authorities and Commissions; Environmental Conservation; Investigations and Government Operations; Judiciary; and Social Services Committees.

(Albany, NY) -- Today, Senator Brian Kavanagh announced that Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has appointed him as the Ranking Democratic Member of the Senate Elections Committee.

In this position, Kavanagh will build upon his long record in the State Assembly championing election reform -- working to modernize New York’s antiquated election laws, remove improper obstacles to voting, strengthen campaign finance disclosure, and close loopholes to prevent monied special interests from exercising undue influence on elections and government.

“Our ability to vote in fair elections is foundational to who we are as Americans. We need to ensure that every eligible New Yorker has an opportunity to register and vote without unnecessary obstacles,” Senator Kavanagh said. “We also need strong campaign finance laws to prevent huge concentrations of wealth from undermining our democracy. I look forward to working with all of my colleagues in the Senate to modernize our outdated election laws, and I thank Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins for entrusting me with this important position.”

During his career in the Assembly, Senator Kavanagh sponsored and secured Assembly passage of bills to enact early voting, make ballots voter friendly, reform voter registration, and clarify and streamline the process of tabulating and reporting election results, among other reforms in the manner in which elections are run. He also passed the Assembly bill to close the “LLC Loophole,” which allows almost unlimited, often virtually anonymous contributions to flow from businesses to politicians, and championed other reforms to campaign finance laws.

In the Assembly, he served as chair of the Consumer Affairs Committee; the Commission of Governmental Administration; and the Election Law Subcommittee responsible for election operations and voting rights; and Co-Chair of the Majority Workgroup on Legislative Process, Operations and Public Participation. 

In addition to the Senate Elections Committee, Leader Stewart-Cousins named Senator Kavanagh to the Banks; Consumer Protection; Corporations, Authorities, and Commissions; Environmental Conservation; Investigations and Government Operations; Judiciary; and Social Services Committees.
 
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