Upstate judge blocks New York State's even-years election law

A Syracuse judge has, for now, put a block on a new law backed by Democrats to change all local elections in New York to even-numbered years to coincide with gubernatorial and presidential elections.

Judge Gerard Neri, of State Supreme Court in Onondaga County, ruled Tuesday the law violates the state constitution and takes away counties’ authorities to set elections.

Supreme Court, despite its name, is just the third-highest court in New York. The decision is all but certain to be appealed to the second level, the Appellate Division, though Democratic officials limited their immediate comments to saying they are reviewing Neri’s decision.

Republicans weren’t so reticent. Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt of Niagara County called it a "big win for voters and local candidates."

At issue is a law approved in 2023 by the Democratic-controlled State Legislature and Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. It would change the custom of holding local elections — county executives, town supervisors, county legislatures, etc. — to even-numbered years to align with gubernatorial and presidential elections.

Democrats and some advocates said the switch would improve turnout, which is always better in even-numbered years, save counties the cost of holding elections every year and reduce voter-turnout fatigue.

Republicans said important local races would be obscured amid the state and national elections and many voters, looking at a much longer ballot if the races were combined, would simply skip casting a vote in many local contests.

Behind each viewpoint is some strategy: History in New York shows turnout generally favors Democrats in even-numbered years, Republicans in odd-numbered years.

Eight counties sued over the law, including Nassau County.

Neri agreed with the GOP’s arguments.

"… Local races, as evidenced by the comparison in the 2022 election between the governor’s race and a town ballot initiative, would be competing for the attention of voters," Neri wrote. "To use an obsolete term, there are only so many column-inches the news can and will handle. By maintaining a separation between even-year federal and state elections and odd-year local elections, local interests would not have to compete for attention with more widely covered state and national issues."

Further, the Republicans argued that the law legally was a "general law" since it carved out exemptions for New York City and other major cities in the state — and, therefore, wasn’t really a consolidation.

Neri said this would exempt about half the state’s population and interfered with counties’ ability to run elections.

"Are the urbane voters of New York City less likely to be confused by odd-year elections than the rubes living in upstate and Long Island?" Neri wrote.

Republicans hailed the outcome. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay called the new law a "blatant overreach."

"Local elections have direct, significant impacts on our hometowns and neighborhoods," Barclay (R-Pulaski) said. "There was never a credible reason to change the election cycle and move local candidates and issues to the bottom of the ballot, under the weight of statewide and presidential elections."

The office of Attorney General Letitia James, which must defend state statutes in lawsuits, limited its comments to saying Neri’s decision was under review. A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) said the same.

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy