New York tracking results on Proposition 1 vote

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWTI) - The polls have closed and New York voters are awaiting the results of the vote on Proposition 1.

The amendment to the New York constitution would forbid discrimination based on "gender identity" and "pregnancy outcomes." The vote on the proposition is serving as a referendum on transgender and abortion rights.

The state constitution currently forbids discrimination based on race, creed or religion. However, the amendment would add language that prevents the denial of civil rights due to age, national origin, sexual orientation, disability, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes or “reproductive healthcare and autonomy.”

The proposition was put on the ballot by state Democrats in the hopes of boosting voter turnout.

Last week, the New York State Sheriffs’ Association came out against Proposition 1. The agency claims its passage would be “disastrous” for the criminal justice system.

New York State Sheriffs’ Association President Craig DuMond issued a statement Friday, saying any “absolute” ban on discrimination by age, sex, or gender identity could make it legally difficult for prisons to separate inmates based on those qualities, throwing the criminal justice system into “chaos.”

Many of the protections included in Proposition 1 are already offered in state laws, but codifying them into the constitution would make them more difficult for future lawmakers to change or remove.