Even-year elections are coming to New York's towns, counties. NYC could be next.
New York state’s top court upheld a law moving many town- and county-level elections to even-numbered years, a ruling that could potentially pave the way for New York City and other jurisdictions to do the same.
The Court of Appeals on Thursday unanimously ruled against Republican-led counties that argued the law was an unconstitutional scheme that usurped local charters and bolstered Democrats' chances in local elections by holding them concurrently with the gubernatorial and presidential races. New York has backed a Democrat for president each cycle since 1984.
But Democrats said the law is meant to boost voter participation by reducing the frequency of trips to the polls and aligning the local races with state and federal races, which generate far higher turnout overall. Attorneys for the state argued there was no constitutional restriction on moving local elections from odd years to even.
The court ultimately agreed with the state, with Judge Michael Garcia — a Republican appointed by Democratic then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — authoring the unanimous opinion that found there is “no express or implied constitutional limitation” on the state Legislature’s ability to move the elections.
https://gothamist.com/news/even-year-elections-are-coming-to-new-yorks-towns-counties-nyc-could-be-next