The Buffalo News: Even Year Election Law Hurts Local Races

November 2024 — Buffalo News columnist Joseph T. Burns argues that New York’s 2023 Even Year Election Law undermines local democracy by moving town and county elections to coincide with state and federal contests.

A federal lawsuit filed by state and county Republican committees, joined by local governments from Long Island and the Hudson Valley, challenges the law as unconstitutional. The plaintiffs — including Nassau, Suffolk, and Orange counties — claim it violates the First Amendment by forcing local candidates to compete for attention and media coverage against high-profile national races. Burns writes that the measure reverses a century-old effort to insulate local elections from state and national politics.

“When the same ballot lists candidates for president and town clerk, it’s not hard to guess who gets heard — and who gets ignored.” — Joseph Burns

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