NY election law that ‘nationalizes’ local politics flies under the radar despite being ‘monumental’: expert

New York ushered in a “revolutionary” election law change that will nationalize and change the fabric of local elections, but it has overwhelmingly flown under the public’s radar, according to an election attorney. 

“It really hasn’t even gotten the attention within New York that I would have thought it would have gotten, because again, this is a monumental change to the electorate,” New York Republican election attorney Joe Burns told Fox News Digital. 

Just days before Christmas, Democratic New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a Democrat-backed bill that moved town, village and county elections to even-numbered years, alongside higher-profile gubernatorial and even presidential elections. The new law will likely upend local elections as they are expected to be drowned out by massive campaigns for state and federal offices, and local candidates might turn their attention to national issues instead of hyper-local campaign platforms, Burns explained to Fox News Digital. 

“It’s nothing short of revolutionary,” Burns said. 

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This month, Republicans in New York’s Onondaga County, which is home to Syracuse in the center of the state, voted to approve $100,000 in funds to begin the process of suing New York State, arguing the drastic changes violate local rules. 

“We will authorize County Executive Ryan McMahon to pursue legal action opposing New York state’s latest overreach against the county’s constitutional and chartered independence,” Republican Onondaga County Legislature Chairman Timothy Burtis said, according to Spectrum News. 

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“The new law is a bold attempt to dismantle Onondaga County’s legal independence without due process,” Burtis added. 

Republicans in the county say the new law is an attack on their county charter. 

“That’s really the big issue,” Burns said, “The state constitution provides tremendous protections for how they organize themselves. Meaning, that the state simply can’t come in and require that these local offices – county executives, county legislators – require that they truncate their terms, require that they then elect the officers on even years,” Burns said. 

Burns sent a letter to Onondaga County Legislature last week, before money was officially set aside for the lawsuit, arguing that the “radical change” is “bad for our local governments, and bad for democracy.” 

“In this era of angry, hyperpartisan politics, is this what New York really needs? Will it strengthen our democracy? Will it improve our system of self-government? No, no, and no,” Burns wrote. 

Democrats who supported the bill argued it would increase voter turnout, as high-profile presidential or state elections draw more voters compared to local election turnout. The bill had been floated around Albany over the last few years and was expected to pass in 2022, but to no avail. The State Assembly and Senate ultimately approved the bill in June, just hours before 2023’s legislative session ended. 

The law officially takes effect next year. 

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“I think it’s a great argument,” Burns said of how Republicans in the county are teeing up the lawsuit. “This new law, forcing these counties to elect their officials on even years, violates Article IX of the state constitution, which includes the local government bill of rights.”

The New York attorney told Fox News Digital he believes there is “a very high likelihood of success” with the lawsuit, and that other counties may soon follow or are at least monitoring the situation. 

Other counties “may figure, ‘let them go forward. Hopefully, they’ll be successful.’ And then that would apply to similar county governments, specifically counties with a charter like in Onondaga County,” he said. 

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The law moved county and town elections but does not affect elections such as city, district attorney or sheriff, as those are governed by the state’s constitution. Burns said that the massive election change has likely received little local and national attention as the law does not affect New York City. 

“What’s the media capital of not just New York, but probably the world? New York City. Well, guess what? What do they have in New York City? They have city offices. Meaning, they’re not affected.” 

Local governments outside of cities, however, will likely see their candidates turn their attention to national issues, instead of local issues such as infrastructure or deploying snow trucks to clear roads during a storm, Burns argued. 

 

“Under this new law, elections for offices such as town clerk, town highway superintendent, and county legislator would appear on the same General Election ballot as races for Congress, U.S. Senate, and President. Candidates in these races for local office – races where candidates might raise and spend as little as a couple thousand dollars in an entire campaign cycle – will be forced to compete with candidates in multimillion-dollar contests for voters’ attention,” Burns wrote in his letter supporting the planned lawsuit. 

“Local concerns will be silent; local politics will be nationalized.”