New York state lawmakers are expected to pass a bill this week consolidating many town- and county-level elections to even-numbered years, a move they hope will create momentum to do the same with New York City elections in the near future.
Assemblymember Amy Paulin (D-Westchester County) and Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange County) announced on Wednesday that their bill would come to a vote before lawmakers end their legislative session in Albany later this week.
The measure, the Democratic lawmakers argue, would help boost voter turnout in local elections by aligning them with state and national elections — such as those for governor or president, which draw far more voters than local-only elections in odd years.
But Republicans have long fought back against the measure, claiming the election alignment is designed to boost Democrats since presidential elections are typically high-turnout events for New York Democrats. The state hasn’t backed a Republican since Ronald Reagan won a second term in 1984.
“What are you afraid of?” Skoufis said of the Republican criticism. “Why are you afraid of higher turnout? As it stands right now in a lot of these local town county elections, you have 20 or so percent of voters deciding the outcome for the entire jurisdiction. Why are you so afraid of 50, 60, 70% of voters determining who should hold these local positions?”
If it is signed by Gov. Kathy Hochul, the measure would be gradually phased in over a period of years. It would apply to offices like county executive and town supervisor, for which elections in many localities are held in odd-numbered years, opposite the presidential and statewide elections. But it would not apply to certain positions like district attorney and city-level elections — which are set by the state constitution.
It also doesn’t apply to villages, which generally hold elections in March.
Along with Republicans, the bill also drew opposition from the state Association of Counties, which…
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