On Wednesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo granted about 35,000 parolees in New York State the right to vote.

Republican State Sen. Rob Ortt says he's against Cuomo's executive order, but says he's also opposed to the way it was carried out.

"Your debt to society has not been paid. Once their debt is paid, and they've served their parole, then there's that process they can go back to re-establish their right to vote," said Ortt, (R) Senate-Lockport.

Ortt says the move is Cuomo's way of picking up more votes, as the issue should have been discussed and debated in the legislature.

"You just don't get to say ‘well I don't want to have to go through that headache, or have to see it fail, so I'm just going to go right to executive order because I think it's the right thing to do.’ That's not how government is supposed to work, it's certainly not how it was set up to work,” said Ortt.

Those on the other side of the aisle, like Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, say parolees should be able to fully participate in society. 

"Governor Cuomo has done a very good thing,” Brown (D) said. "People who have come home, on parole, [have] the right to vote and be re-integrated into the communities that they live in.”

Ortt says he's now looking into the validity of Cuomo's order.