New one Required in New York A New York elections lawyer said the bill, which takes effect this weekend, would give Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James sweeping powers over the state’s elections process.
“Nobody is really talking about it or saying what a big impact this is going to have,” elections lawyer Joseph T. Burns, a partner at the law firm Holtzman Vogel, said in a phone interview with Fox News Digital this week. “But it’s interesting because look, there’s a lot of bad things that happen in New York when it comes to elections and everything else, but I think this is particularly bad. And this is certainly a major attempt at a power grab by the attorney general.”
Under New York’s John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in 2022, the preclearance requirement in the law is set to go into effect Sept. 22. Burns said the new rule will require some jurisdictions in the Empire State to request preclearance from the attorney general or a designated court to make election-related decisions, ranging from changing early voting hours to removing deceased residents from voter rolls.
Burns published an editorial Writing in the New York Post this week, he warned that the new law gives James “unprecedented power over election processes in some of the most competitive congressional districts in the country, including districts on Long Island and the Hudson Valley.” The upcoming requirement has flown under the radar, Burns told Fox Digital, “Nobody is talking about it. It’s pretty remarkable.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/File)
“The new rule overturns the system of constitutionally mandated, bipartisan election administration that has served New York voters well for generations,” Burns wrote in his op-ed published Sunday. “The law requires certain counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts to obtain permission from the AG or a designated court before making election-related or voting-related changes.”
The new rule covers larger jurisdictions such as new york city And nine counties on Long Island, including Hempstead, the largest township in the U.S., as well as other areas are known as “covered entities” under this requirement.
Burns, citing documents he obtained from James’ office last year, said jurisdictions are determined based on a number of factors, including the arrest rate of residents of “protected classes” and whether a jurisdiction has violated civil rights or voting rights in the past 25 years. The rules are explained in detail,
Burns, who has a background in Republican politics and election legal issues, told Fox Digital that there are “four triggers” that flag a jurisdiction as a “covered entity.”
(Amy Dilger/SOPA Images/Light Rocket via Getty Images/File)
“Any political subdivision that, within the past 25 years, has become subject to a court order or government enforcement action based on any violation of this title, the federal Voting Rights Act, the 15th Amendment, Constitution of the United States or voting-related violations of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States,” Burns said, reading from a 2023 document published by James’ office.
Burns cited the example of Erie County, which is considered a “covered entity” under the new rules after its jurisdiction was affected by a court order related to the 14th Amendment nearly a decade ago.
“You think, ‘Wow, that sounds really horrible,'” he said of the 2014 court order. “They’re probably on to something. They’re disenfranchising minorities.”
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“No, not at all. What happened was that the county executive and the county legislature could not agree on a redistricting plan,” Burns said of the matter. “… Something like that would put the local government under pre-clearance.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Trump and his children. (Dave Sanders/Pool/Getty Images/File)
“This isn’t just bad policy, because it undermines bipartisan policy Nature of Election Board. Which, again, they’re not perfect, they have a lot of inefficiencies. But overall, in this day and age where people are so concerned about the integrity of elections, what could be better than to have both sides have a stake in the outcome, both sides wanting and needing to make sure that the election runs smoothly and fairly? And now you have a partisan elected official who essentially has veto power over our election boards,” Burns said.
Under the New York Constitution, elections are run by bipartisan boards that represent both Republicans and non-Republicans equally. Democratic parties,
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“One side looks at the other, and The interests of both parties are involved “Ensuring elections run smoothly — even in jurisdictions dominated by a single party, such as New York City,” Burns wrote in his article. It’s not a perfect system, and it certainly has some drawbacks. But it successfully maintains voter confidence.”
He added, “The state V.R.A.’s preclearance rules, however, undermine this Constitutionally mandated system of bipartisan election administration.”
New York State Capitol. (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images/File)
Burns said it’s possible the new rule, which would take effect about 40 days before the presidential election, could cause some disruptions in elections this year.
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He said, “It’s certainly possible. I mean, what if, God forbid, an early voting site or an Election Day voting site … and a pipe breaks and it floods and it becomes unusable, or there’s a fire in that facility and it burns down. They’d have to remove it.”
Local commissioners must choose a new polling place before filing an application with the AG’s office. Burns said his argument is not that the AG’s office won’t immediately approve the application, but rather that it adds additional layers of paperwork and approval to running an election.
“New Yorkers of all political parties and ideologies want elections to be run fairly, honestly, and efficiently — and the state’s bipartisan election administration system already serves voters well,” Burns wrote in his editorial.
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“Our elections — and public confidence in them — will not improve with interference by the A.G.”
Fox News Digital reached out to James’ office regarding the upcoming requirement and Burns’ concerns, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
