New York Civics: How Your State Government Works

by bam

A practical, non-partisan guide to how the state of New York governs itself, and how you take part where you live. You'll learn New York's 1894 constitution and its distinctive automatic 20-year ballot question ("shall we hold a constitutional convention?"); the three state branches, including a separately-elected Attorney General and Comptroller and New York's famously INVERTED court names (the "Supreme Court" is the TRIAL court, while the "Court of Appeals" is the state's HIGHEST court, whose judges the Governor APPOINTS from a nominating commission's list with State Senate confirmation); how a bill becomes a New York law in a 150-member Assembly and 63-member Senate (a two-thirds override); local government across New York's 62 counties (including New York City's five boroughs) with strong home rule; and New York's elections rules: early voting, no-excuse early mail voting alongside excuse-required absentee ballots, closed party primaries, and NO statewide citizen initiative. It closes on how to get involved where you live. Cited to New York's own official sources (nysenate.gov, nyassembly.gov, dos.ny.gov, nycourts.gov, cjn.ny.gov, elections.ny.gov) and the State Constitution. Because state facts vary and change, the course flags time-sensitive items (like the post-2019 early-mail-voting change and the Governor/Lieutenant-Governor joint-ticket reform) and points you to New York's own sources to confirm the current rule.