By Hank Russell
After receiving pushback from Republican members of the Assembly, the Democrat majority reversed its decision to advance the bill to change the date of a special election that one GOP Assemblymember called “a blatant lack of respect” for the state’s voters.
On February 7, Assembly Majority Speaker Carl Heastie (D-Bronx) introduced legislation that would have scheduled special elections the same day as the general elections. The bill was introduced after Elise Stefanik left her seat in Congress to become Ambassador to the United Nations.
Heastie’s bill (A.4881) claimed that special elections “places undue financial and operational burdens on local boards of elections and exacerbates voter confusion and fatigue,” thereby “resulting in lower voter turnout and decreased participation in the electoral process.”
In addition, according to the legislation, scheduling special and general elections on the same day would not only save money, but it would increase voter turnout and engagement.
Three days after the bill was introduced, GOP Assemblymembers held a press conference inside the Capitol protesting the bill, claiming the Democrats were delaying the special elections on purpose in an effort to retain power. Later that day, Democrats yanked the bill.
“[This bill], which changes the time frame in which Governor [Kathy] Hochul can schedule special elections for [state] Senate, Assembly and congressional seats, could have delayed the upcoming special election and deprived nearly 800,000 New Yorkers in the North Country the representation in Congress they deserve for possibly up to nine months,” said Keith Brown (R,C-Northport). “This would have been a complete eclipse of democracy and betrayal of public trust, disenfranchising countless voters who put their faith in elected leaders to make decisions in their best interest.”
“We will not stand for this blatant lack of respect for voters in our state,” Brown continued. “Albany Republicans will continue to fight back against proposals like this one to maintain fairness in New York state’s electoral process.”