Upending New York’s electoral system, Gov. Kathy Hochul approved a bill that will lump elections for federal, state, county, and local offices into one day, a move local officials said will dilute the power of voters to choose the representatives closest to the people. The new law is seen as an attempt to thwart the ability of Republicans to hold on to the local seats they have taken from the Democrats in the last few elections.
“With the stroke of a pen, Governor Hochul has committed a wholesale act of voter suppression in a desperate and obvious attempt to tip the scales in the favor of progressive left Democrat candidates,” said Jesse Garcia, leader of both the Suffolk and Brookhaven Town GOP. “The continued success of Republicans in local elections has the Democrat Party scrambling to negate suburban voters in Suffolk County, the Long Island region, and throughout New York State. I have no doubt that this will backfire on the governor. All voters will remember this attack on their ideals, our democracy, and our quality of life in future elections.”
Voters traditionally cast ballots for state and federal officials in the even-numbered years and town and county candidates in the odd years. Staggering the electoral process gives voters the ability to focus more on the candidates and the issues they espouse, especially on the local level. Running all the candidates together on one huge ballot will cause national issues to drown out the debate and dilute the ability of voters to thoroughly vet local candidates, critics charge. Even though Democrat voters outnumber the Republicans on Long Island, the GOP has taken over the legislatures in Nassau and Suffolk, all countywide seats, and most of the town boards.
“This is a mistake,” said county Executive-Elect Edward Romaine, the Brookhaven supervisor. “I think the governor has erred in her judgment on this and has done so for purely political purposes to give the Democrat Party an advantage, which is a shame. I hope this is challenged in court.”
“It's clear that the Democrat leaders in Albany feel that if they can't win at the ballot box, they'll simply change the rules until they can,” said Senator Dean Murray, who also accused the Democrats of rigging the state Court of Appeals to clear the way to change New York’s congressional district boundaries in their favor. “They stacked the deck in the courts, and now when they see they're losing local elections all over the state, and especially on Long Island, they changed the rules in their favor.” An appeals judge who voted against the federal redistricting plan put forth by the Democrats stepped down last month and was replaced by a judge who had previously voted for lines that give their party’s candidates an advantage.
In addition to Hochul’s latest move and the appeals court musical chairs, other changes made to the state’s electoral process that benefit the party in control include mail-in ballots, public campaign financing, and the approval of touch-screen voting terminals that can be easily hacked, Murray pointed out.
“If ever a bill deserved a veto, this was it,” said Will Barclay, leader of the state Assembly’s Republican caucus, which voted against the change. “Moving local elections to even-numbered years will completely shift the focus away from local candidates, campaigns, and community concerns. Those critical elections will now be shoved aside and sent down-ballot by bigger races on statewide and national scales,” he noted. “And as a former elected official at the county level, the governor should have known better.”
“Unfortunately, the ballot is going to be so crowded that local elections will get lost, and we will not have the opportunity to have a fruitful discussion about the things that matter most to us on the village, town, and county level,” Romaine added. The new law will not affect school, library or fire department elections, nor will it be applied to elections in New York City or to countywide offices in Suffolk.
According to Betty Manzella, GOP commissioner at the Suffolk Board of Elections, the law will necessitate a multi-page ballot, which will ultimately increase the time it takes for a person to vote, thereby increasing lines during the even-year elections. “There is no cost savings because in the odd year, we still have to print countywide ballots for district attorney, clerk, and county sheriff, which are constitutional offices, and will be elected in separate odd years,” she said.
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Suffolk Democrat Party Chairman Rich Schaffer, who also chairs the Babylon committee and is the town’s supervisor, echoed the governor, stating, “Anything that encourages greater participation in elections is good for our county.”
“Governor Hochul and the extreme left have proven that they will stoop to the lowest levels to ensure a one-party rule to continue to advance their failed liberal extreme agenda and further erode the quality of life in New York State,” Garcia went on to say. “This is a direct attack on this country’s democracy and a shameless act of self-preservation and kowtowing to the extreme progressive liberal agenda.”
As with the mail-in ballot law, the even-year ballot measure is expected to be challenged in court.