ALBANY- In Orange County in 2021 when the county executive’s race topped the ballot, 66,421 votes were cast compared to just over 124,000 one year later in 2022 when there was a statewide race for governor. Both of these turnout numbers pale in comparison to the last presidential election year, 2020, when voter turnout was greater than 173,000.
These turnout trends are not unique, similar patterns existed in counties throughout both the Mid-Hudson region and statewide, however, that could change now that a bill that has languished in Albany for nearly a decade that would shift local elections to even years in an effort to boost voter participation has new life in the final days of the legislative session.
According to State Senator James Skoufis (D, Cornwall), the bill’s sponsor, moving local elections to even years would go a long way to increase voter participation. He has called the bill a “no brainer” citing both increased voter participation and the financial savings associated with his plan. The bill is sponsored in the lower house by Assemblywoman Amy Paulin (D, Scarsdale).
The bill would apply to town and county elections across the state, which are oftentimes, but not always, held in odd numbered years. The proposal does not apply to city elections because city elections are constitutionally required to be held in odd-numbered years. In order to change city elections, a constitutional amendment and statewide referendum would need to take place.
Local elected officeholders serving in their elected term on January 1, 2025 would complete their full term unless the term expired in an odd-numbered year. If that were the case, the term would terminate one year early to bring the new term on the even-numbered election cycle.
Republicans in the legislature have historically opposed the change, holding that local elections, which are more often shaped by issues rather than politics, would get lost among larger contests. Local officials…
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