Finally got my NY absentee ballot in the mail today. I'll be voting for Biden/Harris (as well as @JabariBrisport & others!) on the @NYWFP ballot line in order to save their official party status, which @andrewcuomo is trying to take away as retribution. Here's why:

Here's a thread with background. TL;DR: the WFP has been willing to stand up to Cuomo, so he got the legislature to make it harder for WFP to keep its ballot access. WFP needs to get at least 2% of the presidential vote this fall or it loses party status. https://twitter.com/srfeld/status/1301993640303222785?s=20

Why care about the WFP's official party status? A few reasons. 1st, the WFP fights for its candidates in Democratic primaries, & party status allows it to spend a lot of money in support of them. I don't always agree with their endorsements, but most of the time I do.

2nd, the WFP ballot line helps elect Democratic candidates in areas upstate where voters may be unwilling to vote for Democrats. WFP votes sometimes exceed the margin of victory. The WFP line, which can be withheld, is also an incentive pulling these upstate Dems to the left.

3rd, the WFP ballot line is useful in special elections, where NY's stupid laws allow county machines to pick nominees without a primary. For example, my assemblymember is running for borough president next year. If she wins, the Brooklyn Dem Party picks a nominee to replace her.

If Cuomo succeeds in killing the WFP's ballot line, whatever party hack the Brooklyn Dems pick automatically wins a special election in a deep blue area like mine. The WFP line can allow a non-machine candidate to beat the Dem nominee, like @YourFavoriteASW did in 2015.

I know this ballot line stuff is deep in the weeds, but the short version is, with a few strokes of your pen, you can help thwart Cuomo & preserve a useful electoral institution by voting for Biden/Harris on the @NYWFP line. Questions/objections/comments? I'm all ears.