Gov. Hochul Signs Laws Strengthening Early Voting, Republicans and Conservatives File Lawsuit

Governor Kathy Hochul sighs voting rights package

Governor Kathy Hochul signed a legislative package Wednesday that includes strengthening early voting practices.

All voters will now be able to mail in their ballot during the early voting period — not just those with valid, approved excuses.

The legislation also enhances electoral education, requiring the state’s Board of Elections to provide a training program for poll workers.

It’s part of the state’s ongoing effort to improve and protect access to the right to vote.

But Republicans and Conservatives have already filed a lawsuit to challenge it. The legal challenge was widely expected after New York voters rejected a ballot measure two years ago that would have amended the state constitution to permit no-excuse absentee voting.

Representative Elise Stefanik is leading the lawsuit with the state GOP, state Conservative Party, members of the Republican House delegation and others on Wednesday.

Republicans are arguing that the new law violates the portion of the state constitution that governs absentee voting. Currently, New Yorkers must be sick, have a disability or be out of their district in order to obtain an absentee ballot. During the pandemic, lawmakers and the governor took action to temporarily expand the definition “temporary illness” to include fear of contracting COVID-19, effectively permitting the broad use of absentee ballots without a constitutional amendment.

But the pandemic-era measure has expired, and voters explicitly rejected a ballot measure in 2021 that would have changed the constitution to allow for no-excuse absentee voting after a coordinated effort by conservatives to kill the proposal.

Hochul expected a lawsuit, but emphasized that the legislation does not violate the state constitution. She told reporters on Wednesday, “Absentee voting was on the ballot…, this is independent of that. This is simply allowing vote-by-mail during the early voting period.”

The new law does not specify that voters must return early mail ballots during the early voting period, only that they be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the local board of elections now later than seven days after the election.