Why it Matters
The even year election law crosses party lines.
“Let us not seek the Republican answer or the Democratic
answer but the right answer”
- President John F. Kennedy
History of Odd-Year Elections
Odd-year elections were born out of
revolt against corruption,
national party machines,
and political dominance.
A century ago, Progressives ripped local elections away from national elections to protect our school boards, public safety, and infrastructure.
New York’s recently passed Even Year Election Law (EYEL) threatens to restore corruption by jamming local candidates onto bloated ballots alongside presidential theatrics.
You’re told it’s democratic. In reality, it stifles candidates, delivers ballot fatigue, and makes voters less informed.
Even Year Election Laws put your voice at risk.
your elections become exclusive to political elites and disconnected aristocrats.
90%
Just advertising for your campaign in an even year becomes drastically more expensive than in an odd year. Data shows digital political ad spending in 2022 and 2024 was more than four times higher than in 2023. Federal races dominate these cycles with immense spending that ultimately leave no room for small, grassroots candidates.
In the US, the candidate who wins spends the most money around 90% of the time.
In an even-year election, who is most likely to win when running for a local office now means tens of thousands in fundraising and fighting for airtime against national celebrities.
The result is a financial arms race that systematically disadvantages grassroots candidates, “drowning out democracy,” and favors those with established political or donor networks.
Even year elections steal your vote.
80%
Proponents of the EYEL argue that it promotes turnout and removes unnecessary barriers, but democracy isn’t a numbers game.
It’s a system built on informed participation, not just headcounts. Already, up to 80% of elections have voters who do not finish their ballots.
Now imagine what happens when the bottom of the ballot is filled with grassroots candidates, ones without national PAC and party money to high roll their campaign.
Your voice is drowned out in the noise of national politics, and local candidates are silenced.
Democracy becomes a show.
voters rely on biases rather than facts.
When voters are overwhelmed, they don’t make smarter choices, they make faster ones.
At the end of the day, all voters have preferences on party, gender, and racial stereotypes. Crowded even year election ballots encourage voters to act based off these preferences alone. These factors are often what determine outcome in low information races.
Query Theory shows we remember what’s loudest first. These top-of-the-ballot names, viral headlines, and national headlines stick but at some point, voters stop seeing people and start seeing categories.
Democrat? Good. Woman? Weak. Name I’ve heard before? Must be good.