New York Counties Can Keep Odd-Year Election Schedule

A judge in New York today ruled that a state law that aligns certain local elections with state and federal elections in even-numbered years violates the state constitution. Counties and towns with odd-year elections will keep their election schedules.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed the Even Year Election Law into law late last year, moving multiple county and town elections from odd-numbered years to even numbered years. The purpose was to standardize election timelines to boost turnout and reduce voter fatigue for those who find it difficult to take time off work or travel to polling places every year. The law was set to go into effect in January. 

Eight Republican counties filed lawsuits asking the court to strike down the law for violating the New York State Constitution, which allows local governments to regulate local elections. These lawsuits were consolidated into one case. 

According to the counties, Article IX of the state constitution gives local governments autonomy over all aspects of elections for local offices, including when those elections are held and the term lengths for local elected officials. They alleged that the new law would override their ability to do both those things because term lengths would be shortened during the transition to shift towns and counties to even-year elections. 

The State of New York argued that Article IX allows the state government to make laws about local governments when there is a substantial interest to the state. Increasing voter turnout by making voting more convenient, it claimed, is a substantial state interest. 

Judge Gerard Neri disagreed, writing that turnout for local elections is “inherently…a local concern,” and that “counties have the constitutional right to set their own terms of office.”

Read the order here.

Original post, April 29

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) signed a law at the end of last year moving certain  local elections to even years, and over the past month, eight counties have sued the state, asking courts to block the law.

In late December 2023, Hochul signed into law the Even Year Election Law, which moves multiple county and town elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years with the goal of reducing voter fatigue

“Every eligible New Yorker deserves the right to participate in the democratic process without unnecessary barriers,” Hochul said in a release when she signed the bill. “By signing this legislation, we are taking a significant step towards expanding access to the ballot box and promoting a more inclusive democracy.”

She explained that when local elections are held in odd-numbered years, it makes it more difficult for people to vote in those races because they are not the traditional election cycles they are used to and they may have a hard time taking time off work and traveling to polling sites every single year.

Hochul also said that she would support an amendment to the state constitution that would align elections for all offices because it would save taxpayer dollars and “avoid voter fatigue.” 

Voter turnout is higher for local elections held in even-numbered years because many people are already planning on voting, according to Hochul’s release. Specifically, in 2020, approximately 64% of eligible voters cast their ballots but in 2021, only 25% of eligible voters turned out in New York local elections.

Numerous legislators expressed their support for the legislation, including Westchester County Executive George Latimer (D).

“A number of counties already hold even-numbered year elections for County Executive and County Legislator, and this would standardize that across the board as well as serving as a positive result for County races in Westchester,” Latimer said in Hochul’s release. 

Over the last two months, eight Republican counties filed lawsuits in state court, seeking to block the law.

Onondaga and Nassau counties filed lawsuits on March 22 and April 5 respectively.

Then, several other counties across the state filed lawsuits of their own: Oneida County on April 8, Rensselaer County on April 15, Orange County on April 17, Dutchess and Suffolk counties on April 19 and Rockland County on April 22.

As of July 3, all of these lawsuits have been consolidated into one case.

The counties are all arguing that this new law violates Article IX of the New York Constitution, which gives local governments the authority to determine when elections are held for local officials.

Rockland County, which filed the most recent lawsuit against the law, argues in its complaint that the legislation “involuntarily and forcibly seeks to eliminate local autonomy over local government affairs—including the length of elected officials’ terms; the frequency of local elections; and the period of local elections—by the authoritarian measure of dictating that all elections shall be in even-numbered years.”

All six counties assert that the Legislature exceeded its authority to meddle in local government affairs since the even year election law was neither a special or general law.

While they all present this argument, some counties discussed more technical legal issues as well. Onondaga and Oneida counties in upstate New York argue that a clause in Article IX protects all local laws passed before 1963, and the counties’ charters — both passed in 1961 — scheduled local elections for odd numbered years.  

Long Island’s Nassau County claims that the county’s local election years were established by a charter and referendum in 1936, so the county can only change its election years under a similar process. 

Despite these nuances, Onondaga and Nassau counties may consolidate their cases, and there’s a possibility that all six counties consolidate their lawsuits into one case against the state.

Read the Even Year Election Law here.

Learn more about these cases here.

This story was updated on July 5, 2024 at 2:08 p.m. EDT to add that all of the lawsuits have been consolidated.