Reinvent Albany Publishes FOILed NY Senate Confirmation Votes

Reinvent Albany has updated its New York Senate Confirmations Tracker, using 2026 voting records that were provided by the State Senate in response to Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests. In return for providing the requested records via email, the Senate nonsensically asked Reinvent Albany to mail a check for $2.00, which we did.  

The new data updates Reinvent Albany’s analysis from December 2026, “Transparency Gap: NY Senate Confirmation Votes Kept Behind Two Layers of Obstacles,” which found that the State Senate both failed to publish confirmation votes on its website and overuses slate voting. Other jurisdictions publish voting records on their websites – like the U.S. Senate, the California State Legislature, and the NYC Council – and limit the use of slate voting.

After our report was released, a Senate spokesperson told the Times Union the Senate would review the report’s findings and “identify additional opportunities this legislative session to further strengthen public trust in New York state government. Our commitment is simple: keep improving, keep modernizing, and keep building a government worthy of the people we serve.” 

Reinvent Albany followed up with a February 2026 letter to Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins. We did not receive a response and are still waiting for the Senate to define clear next steps regarding publication of confirmation votes. 

2026 Confirmation Data Findings

1. The late state budget likely limited the number of nominees the Senate had time to confirm in 2026. The number of confirmations has decreased each year as the budget has gotten later and later:
   • 2024 – 175 confirmations over 11 slates, budget passed 4/20
   • 2025 – 144 confirmations over 12 slates, budget passed 5/8
   • 2026 –  69 confirmations over 6 slates, budget passed 5/27
2. 100% of the Governor’s nominees continue to be confirmed. Just like 2024 and 2025, all candidates advanced to the Senate in 2026 were confirmed. 
3. MTA board members continue to have the fewest “Aye” votes, yet are still confirmed with comfortable margins. Melanie Hartzog, James O’Donnell, Matthew Rand and Janette Sadik-Khan were confirmed with 36 “Ayes” to 24 “Nays” in June 2026, the most “Nay” votes of any slate.
4. The average slate size in 2026 was 12 nominees; it was 12 in 2025 and 14 in 2024.
5. A total of six slates were voted on by Senators in 2026. Several Senators missed nearly all of them:
   • Kevin Parker (Dem, District 21) was absent for 5 slates, missing votes on 68 of the 69 nominees up for confirmation in 2026. (Note: Parker’s name was crossed off on the voting records we received. Parker was recorded as absent for votes on legislation on those same days, so Reinvent Albany assumed he was also absent for confirmation votes.)
   • Jeremy Cooney (Dem, District 56) was excused for 5 slates, also missing votes on 68 nominees.
   • Sam Sutton (Dem, District 22) was excused from 4 slates, missing votes on 67 nominees.

Recommendations

1. The Senate should publish complete voting records on nominations on its website, including Senators’ floor and committee votes, as is done in the U.S. Senate, New York City Council, and the states of California, Pennsylvania, Vermont, North Carolina, and Illinois. 
2. End slate voting, requiring Senators to vote on individual appointees, as is done by the NYC Council and for high-profile positions by the U.S. Senate.
3. Require disclosure of lobbying on confirmations. The Legislature should pass and the Governor should sign S374 (Gianaris) /A7456 (McDonald) requiring disclosure of lobbying on Senate confirmations. An earlier version of this legislation was vetoed by Governor Hochul in 2023.
4. Provide adequate time for review. The Governor should provide the Senate with more time to consider nominations, not wait until the final weeks of session. Other states require appointees to be sent by certain deadlines, such as March 1st (Iowa) or May 1st (Connecticut).

Click to view the Senate Confirmations webpage on Reinvent Albany’s site.