The governor of New York, Kathy Hochul, is expected to vote on an election bill that could change the way elections go for New Yorkers forever. The changes described are said to be “monumental” as they can lead to a shift in voter turnout.
The bill is said to move town, village, and county elections to even-numbered years, as well as potentially affecting presidential elections. The governor will have decided on this by Friday.
“She has until Friday to sign or veto, and it seems the conventional wisdom now, I think, is that she’s going to sign it,” Republican election attorney Joseph Burns told Fox News Digital. “That’s a pretty monumental change to how elections are run in New York. Truthfully, I’m a little surprised that it hasn’t gotten the public attention that I think it deserves. Although as soon as she signs it, I think people are going to get hit with this pretty hard here in the next couple of weeks.”
The bill is said to move county and town elections, but not affect anything else. The bill would potentially drown out all other local elections as the campaigns for state and federal offices would be the main topic.
“If you’re a candidate for your town council, you might spend $1,500 over the course of your entire election. Well, if you’re on the same ballot as a congressional candidate, who might be spending over a million dollars – and that’s before you even get to the super PACs that might come in with another million, $2 million – are you really going to be able to get your message out?” Burns said.
Democrats who support the bill argue mostly that it will increase voter turnout which is their main focus and goal.
“The proponents really are focused on one thing, which is that voter turnout in even years – where you have either the governor’s race leading the ticket or the presidential race leading the ticket – the proponents’ argument is the turnout is higher, significantly higher in those years, than in the odd years. There’s no question about that, that’s just factual – simply look it up. But that being said, there’s plenty of counter-arguments,” Burns told Fox News Digital.
Many argue that the more opportunity there is to vote, the more votes there will be. However, others argue that it’s not just about voting, but about campaigns and media as well. Changing when local officials are elected could cause a ripple effect leading to even more shifts in the New York election process and results.
