Buffalo Residents Can Vote To Change City’s ‘Constitution’

With early voting starting today all over the Empire State, residents of New York's second-largest city have quite a few things to think about and vote on this year when they go to the polls between now and November 3rd.

Not only are there elections for all of the major state-level offices, like Governor & Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, and more, the entire body of the state legislature is due to be filled, along with every member of Congress, Judges to the state's Supreme Court, plus county-level offices like Clerk and Legislators; the people in Buffalo also have 11 important decisions they need to give thier opinion on.

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Every government in the United States, from the Feds to your local town, has a governing document. For America and New York State, that document is called a Constitution. In the city of Buffalo, that document is called the Charter, and at more than 400 pages, it lays out the general rules and regulations on how the city of Buffalo is governed.

Earlier this year, the City's Charter Review Commission had a series of meetings and public hearings to find out what changes, if any, should be made to the city's rules. The last time the Charter was revised was in 1999, so it's likely due for a revision.

Now, city residents have 11 items to vote on and decide if a change is needed. Those suggestions range from how the city's annual budget is prepared to if the city should have a Civilian Police Advisory Commission.

You can review the list of items below.

Are you planning on voting this year? If so, are you going to vote on election day or vote early?

We do not have government by the majority. We have government by the majority who participate.
–Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States & 1st United States Secretary of State