Our ability to strengthen our public health infrastructure — our social safety net — and support frontline workers depends on electing candidates who support nurses, healthcare professionals and our communities. As the 2024 election season heats up, this is our chance to get involved and help elect NYSNA champions who will make a difference in the lives of nurses, healthcare workers and our patients!
NYSNA is proud to announce our endorsements for the 2024 general election. These candidates share nurses’ values of community and compassion and are committed to uplifting working people everywhere. Help us build political power for our union and make sure we elect pro-worker, pro-healthcare representatives to office so we can hold employers and special interests accountable.
HOW TO VOTE
Key Dates
l Oct. 26: last day to register to vote, in person or by mail
l Oct. 26-Nov. 3: early voting
l Nov. 4: last day to apply in person for a ballot
l Nov. 5: Election Day! Last day to postmark ballot/last day to deliver ballot in person to county board of elections or your poll site
Absentee Voting Information
You may qualify to vote absentee for the following reasons:
1. Absent from your county or, if a resident of New York City, absent from the five boroughs on Election Day.
2. Unable to appear at the polls due to temporary or permanent illness or disability.
3. Unable to appear because you are the primary caregiver of one
or more individuals who are ill or physically disabled.
4. A resident or patient of a Veterans Health Administration Hospital.
You may apply for an absentee ballot in any of the following ways:
l Apply online at https:// ballotapplication.elections. ny.gov/home/absentee.
l Go in person to your local county board of elections. (For more information, visit https:// elections.ny.gov/.)
l Designate another person to deliver your application in person to your local county board of elections and receive your ballot.
l Download a PDF version of the New York State Absentee Ballot Application Form: https:// elections.ny.gov/.
You can track your absentee ballot via the Board of Elections’ Poll
Site Search, Voter Registration and Absentee Ballot Tracker available at https://voterlookup.elections. ny.gov/.
You may return the ballot in any of the following ways:
1. Put it in the mail, ensuring it receives a postmark no later than Nov. 5. The County Board of Elections must receive it no later than Nov. 12.
2. Bring it to your County Board of Elections Office no later than 9 p.m. on Nov. 5.
3. Bring it to an early voting poll site in your county between Oct. 26 and Nov. 3.
4. Bring it to a poll site in your county by 9 p.m. on Nov. 5.
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NYSNA Treasurer Margaret Franks, BSN, RN, MEDSURG-BC, attended a GOTV event for Yvette Valdes Smith along with labor and healthcare champion Sen. M ichelle Hinchey.
Kamala Harris for President
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NYSNA has joined National Nurses United (NNU) in enthusiastically endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Tim Walz for vice president.
“Vice President Harris has played a fundamental role in the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration, and she has a long history of supporting working people and backing legislation that is critical to patient health and safety,” said NYSNA and NNU President Nancy Hagans, RN, BSN, CCRN “Her strong track record of support for our union and for nurses’ values of caring, compassion and community stands in stark contrast to the right-wing threats and anti-worker agenda of Donald Trump. Nurses across the country are proud and excited to endorse Vice President Harris to be the next president of the United States because we know she is the right choice to protect our patients’ health and safety.”
Harris’ accomplishments include:
l Providing tie-breaking votes for critical legislation, including the American Rescue Plan, which provided stimulus checks to working people and ensured a comprehensive pandemic response program. She also provided the tie-breaking vote for the Inflation Reduction Act, which reduced the prices of prescription drugs and included critical provisions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
l Standing up for union workers. Harris worked to save the pensions of more than 1 million union workers and retirees; has stood in solidarity with striking union workers; and chaired the White House Task Force on Worker Organizing and Empowerment, which is aimed at helping workers join labor unions and bargain collectively. Harris has supported the NNU-backed Protecting the Right to Organize Act, a bill to protect workers’ rights to organize unions and collectively bargain without fear of retaliation, and the NNU-backed VA Employee Fairness Act, which grants full col-
lective bargaining rights to RNs and other clinicians in the Veterans Health Administration — helping to ensure our nation’s heroes receive the highest quality care.
l Advocating in key healthcare fights, including the fight to defend and restore reproductive health rights. Harris has consistently defended the Affordable Care Act and Medicare from attacks, has supported efforts to reduce medical debt, and has championed the new staffing standards for nursing homes that the Biden administration achieved. She has also supported the important health and safety regulations that the Biden administration issued, including a landmark Occupational Safety and Health Administration temporary standard mandating optimal COVID-19 protections for health care workers. Harris has toured nationwide in support of reproductive healthcare rights.
l Backing legislation to protect patients and nurses. In her time as a U.S. Senator, Harris cosponsored NNU-backed healthcare legislation, including federal safe nurse-to-patient staffing limits, Medicare for All and a bill to prevent workplace violence in healthcare settings. As attorney general of California, where NNU represents more than 100,000 RNs, Harris stood up for nurses and patients, including backing RNs in their fight to protect the state board of registered nursing from efforts to eliminate the board and holding hospital corporations accountable.
Harris and Walz have broad support among union members. Several labor leaders, including Hagans, traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago to address the convention and enthusiastically cast their vote to nominate Harris and Walz as president and vice president.
“As a women-dominated profession, with many nurses of color caring for patients across the country, we really couldn’t be more proud to endorse Harris for president and fight to make history in November,” said Hagans. “Nurses have her back because we know she has our back — and the backs of our patients.”
Building Union and Community Power
In an unprecedented collaboration, NYSNA is joining leading organizations, unions and movements to get out the vote and prioritize working families in this year’s election! Battleground New York — led by the Working Families Party, Planned Parenthood Empire State Acts, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), NYSNA, Communications Workers of America District 1, 32BJ SEIU, Indivisible and other organizations — will be the largest field and organizing campaign in modern New York history. You can find out more here: https://www.battlegroundny.com/
2024 NY Nurse General Election Voter Guide Highlighted Races
CAPITAL REGION
Gabriella Romero is running for the State Assembly seat in the 109th District. Romero is in her first term as an Albany Common Council member. Romero is a public defender in Albany County and continues to fight for working families. She supports universal healthcare and sponsors the city council resolution in support of Albany Medical Center nurses in their fight for a fair and just contract and has been on the picket lines as well.
Phil Steck is running for State Assembly seat in the 110th District. Steck is a strong supporter of the Nurses in the Capital District and the issues our members really care about, like safe staffing ratios and the single-payer healthcare system. Steck stood with our nurses from Ellis and Bellevue during their yearlong contract campaign and is cur-
rently standing with Albany Medical Center nurses during their contract campaign and their fight to enforce the staffing law at Albany Med.
HUDSON VALLEY
Senator Michelle Hinchey is running for reelection to the New York State Senate in the Hudson Valley’s 41st District. She was first elected in 2020, making history as the youngest woman to represent an upstate district. Hinchey has focused on expanding access to rural healthcare and housing, enhancing local food access, protecting farmland, addressing the climate crisis and advancing environmental stewardship. She was there in solidarity with nurses and patients to demand a reopening of Kingston’s only inpatient mental health and chemical dependency services. Hinchey supported our staffing bill and is a co-sponsor of the New York Health Act.
Josh Riley is running for Congress in New York’s 19th Congressional District. He has had a career in public service, including working as a policy analyst at the Department of Labor and as counsel in the U.S. Senate. He has championed bills that provided funding for addiction treatment and mental health programs. As an
Assemblymember Steck has been in solidarity with Albany Medical Center nurses throughout their contract campaign this year.
Senator Hinchey at the info picket with Vassar Brothers M edical Center nurses.
2024 NY Nurse General Election
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attorney, he represented children from low-income families who could not access healthcare. Riley is committed to supporting the issues that impact nurses and our communities, including safe staffing and increased access to care.
Congressman Pat Ryan is running for reelection in New York’s 18th District, representing Orange County and parts of Dutchess and Ulster Counties. He is a veteran and former Ulster County executive who has worked with organized labor to guarantee better wages and protections for working families, pass paid family leave and ensure that equal work means equal pay. Ryan has proven his commitment to tackling issues that impact nurses, healthcare professionals, patients and our communities.
Races
Yvette Valdez-Smith is running for New York State Senate’s 39th District. She is a former public-school teacher and proud union member and currently serves as minority leader of the Dutchess County Legislature. Valdez-Smith has committed to addressing the issues nurses care about, including advocating for safe staffing and co-sponsoring the New York Health Act.
Long Island
Laura Gillen is running for Congress in New York’s 4th
Congressional District. This district is considered one of the most competitive in the nation. Gillen was the first Democrat to be elected Town of Hempstead Supervisor in 112 years. As supervisor, she led efforts to revitalize the town’s infrastructure, sued to recover damages for contaminants in the public water supply, and passed legislation relating to sexual harassment and veterans’ benefits. Gillen has a passion for serving those in need. She was a volunteer at the former South Nassau Communities Hospital and at Gay Men’s Health Crisis during
Congressman Tom Suozzi with NYSNA Director at Large Michelle Jones, MSN, RN, ANPC.
Laura Gillen
Pat Ryan
the height of the AIDS epidemic, and she has worked for St. Mother Teresa in her home for the dying. Gillen has pledged to support both safe staffing and increased access to healthcare.
Kim Keiserman is a first-time candidate running for New York State Senate in District 6. She is head of the Port Washington Democrats, a former high school teacher and a community activist who currently serves as commissioner of the North Hempstead Housing Authority Board. Her plans for the State Senate include strengthening education, standing up for reproductive rights, pushing for sensible gun laws, promoting affordable communities for working families and championing environmental policies to combat climate change. Keiserman strongly supports our issues, including staffing ratios and the New York Health Act.
Congressman Tom Suozzi is running for reelection in New York Congressional District 3. He served as mayor of Glen Cove for eight years, was Nassau County Executive for another eight years and then served six years in Congress. Suozzi returned to
Congress earlier this year after winning in a special election with overwhelming support from local labor unions. As vice chair of the Problem Solvers Caucus, he helped negotiate the historic Infrastructure and Jobs Act, which invested billions of dollars to improve New York’s infrastructure. Suozzi’s other accomplishments include obtaining federal funds for the Long Island Sound, securing millions for the Bethpage Water District and leading a bipartisan effort for New York State to get its fair share of federal funds during COVID-19. Suozzi also passed legislation to lower the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs.
New York City
Senator Iwen Chu is running for reelection in State Senate District 17 in Brooklyn. Chu is the first Asian-American woman in the State Senate. In her first term, she secured $30 million in funding for Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. Chu stood alongside our Health+Hospitals (H+H) and Maimonides nurses during our latest round of contract negotiations. Chu is a former Community Board member and served as the board director of a
healthcare agency. She is a staunch supporter of safe nurse-to-patient ratios and increasing access to healthcare.
Andrea Morse is a first-time candidate running for Congress in District 11, which covers Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn. Morse is a third-generation Staten Islander, granddaughter of a Union Machinist and the wife of a union carpenter. She believes that a pathway to the middle class is made possible through union labor. Morse is dedicated to ensuring that everyone has access to affordable, high-quality healthcare. She has pledged to support the issues nurses care about, including sponsoring safe staffing legislation.
Senator Jessica ScarcellaSpanton is running for reelection in New York’s 23rd District, covering the North and East Shores of Staten Island and Southern Brooklyn. Some of her major accomplishments include getting vaccines for over 1,000 families across Staten Island and Brooklyn when there were no appointments available and successfully fighting to get an executive order passed
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Senator Pete Harkham rallies with Westchester Medical Center nurses fighting for a fair contract in 2022.
2024 NY Nurse General Election Voter Guide
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that would require hospitals to allow women in labor to have a support person when hospitals prevented this during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scarcella-Spanton has been an outspoken supporter of our nurses at Staten Island University Hospital, Richmond University Medical Center and H+H/ South Brooklyn Hospital.
Westchester and Rockland
Senator Pete Harckham is running for reelection in the 40th State Senate District. He was elected to the senate in November 2018 and reelected in 2020 and 2022. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Harckham assisted thousands of residents with unemployment claims and delivered personal protective equipment to first responders and municipalities. He has been a strong advocate for safe staffing ratios, fair contracts and worker protections. He has stood alongside nurses from NewYork PresbyterianHudson Valley Hospital and with nurses from Putnam Hospital Center during their contract negotiations and when Putnam Hospital attempted to close the only maternity ward unit in the county.
Mondaire Jones is running to return to Congress to represent residents of the Lower Hudson Valley in New York’s 17th District. In 2020, Jones was elected as the youngest member of House leadership and was named the most legislatively active freshman in Congress. Jones worked to lower prescription drug prices for thousands of seniors on Medicare; negotiated the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; and passed the American Rescue Plan Act, which kept small businesses open and brought hundreds of millions of dollars to the Lower Hudson Valley for schools, housing and healthcare. Jones is a strong supporter of nurse-to-patient ratios and Medicare for All.
Elijah Reichlin-Melnick
is running for New York State Senate’s 38th District in Rockland County. In 2020, Reichlin-Melnick was recognized as the most productive first-term senator of either political party, introducing and passing bills to keep kids safe from gun violence at school, protect them from lead exposure and require insurance companies to provide funding for “early intervention” services. Reichlin-Melnick was a co-sponsor of both the Safe Staffing for Quality Care Act and the New York Health Act. To address the nurse staffing crisis, he introduced the RESPECT Nurses Act to prioritize nurse recruitment and retention.
Western New York
April Baskin is running in Western New York for the 63rd Senate District. April was elected to the Erie County Legislature in 2017 and has served as Legislature chair since 2020. She stood with
our members from Erie County Medical Center and Erie County Health Department during their very hard-fought contract campaign and helped members identify ways to push for a better contract. Chairwoman Baskin is a strong supporter of the healthcare issues our members deeply care about and advocate for like safe staffing and a single-payer health system.
Tim Kennedy is running for reelection to Congress in Western New York’s 26th District after winning the Special Election in April. He served for six years in the Erie County Legislature and for 12 years in the New York State Senate. He stood and met several times with our nurses at Erie County Medical Center and Erie County Health Department when they were fighting to secure a contract and called on the CEO to do more for patient care. Kennedy has been a strong advocate for all labor with a strong record of support across Western New York and the state.
