Off-year local elections would mostly disappear throughout New York except in New York City under a push to hold all voting in even-numbered years that could be put to voters for approval in 2027.
The state already took the first step to consolidate its elections with a 2023 law that moved votes for certain county and town offices to even years, when state and federal voting takes place and turnout is higher. That shift was championed by Democratic state lawmakers and fiercely opposed by Republicans who waged a three-year court fight to try to stop it — a losing battle that ended in March when the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.
The Democratic-led state Legislature has now taken the next step by giving initial approval to a constitutional amendment that would move other local races to even years as well: city mayors and councils; county clerks, sheriffs and district attorneys; and judges. One large exclusion: elections for mayor and other offices in New York City, which would continue to be held in odd-numbered years.
State lawmakers passed the amendment bill on their last voting days for 2026 — June 4 for the Senate, June 5 for the Assembly — in another party-line vote, with Democrats in support and Republicans strenuously objecting before voting against the bill. The tallies were 38-22 in the Senate and 88-46 in the Assembly.
In order to reset those elections to even years in the state constitution, lawmakers must pass the bill again next year and put it before voters in a statewide referendum in November.
Inside NY’s debate over shifting local races to even-year elections
The proposal was sponsored by two Orange County Democrats: Sen. James Skoufis and Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson. Jacobson defended it in a marathon floor debate that lasted more than three hours on June 5, as a stream of Republicans questioned its payoff and suggested potential drawbacks.
Jacobson touted the consolidation of New York’s elections as a reform that would both increase voter participation in local elections and save taxpayers significant money on the cost of administering elections in odd years.
Republicans countered that local races may get drowned out by national politics in even years, and that voters might skip those local contests if they’re buried at the end of a long ballot after federal and state offices.
They were echoing concerns raised by the New York State Conference of Mayors and Municipal Officials, which warned in a memo opposing the amendment that “long and complex ballots will almost certainly lead to voter fatigue” at the expense of local races.
“To ensure a vibrant and functioning democracy, it is crucial to maintain a system that encouragesinformed and engaged voter participation,” the memo read. “This system is best achieved through staggered and focused elections.”
What local elections would move to even years in NY?
If enacted, all county, town and city elections other than New York City’s would be held in even years. That would end odd-year votes for mayor and council in 61 New York cities that range in size from Buffalo, Yonkers and Rochester, which each have more than 200,000 residents, to a handful of cities with fewer than 5,000.
The amendment wouldn’t affect the timing of elections in New York’s 532 villages, although another pending bill that’s on hold until next year’s session would require village elections be held in even years as well.
In a non-binding referendum last November, New York City voters declared, by a margin of more than five percentage points, that they opposed moving the city’s elections to even years. The question was non-binding because shifting the election timing would have required a state constitutional amendment like the one excluding New York City that may go before voters in 2027.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA TODAY Network. Reach him at CMcKenna@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: What NY push to shift local elections to even years means for voters
Reporting by Chris McKenna, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Chris McKenna, New York State Team | USA TODAY Network
