New York’s new no-excuse absentee voting law violates its state constitution, a new lawsuit filed by a coalition of Republican groups and politicians alleges.
Filed on Wednesday by the Republican National Committee and other Republican-affiliated groups, the suit contends that a law signed by Democrat Gov. Kathy Hochul “allow[ing] any registered voter in the state to cast an early ballot by mail” breaches the New York Constitution. Under New York’s top legal document, absentee voting is strictly reserved for qualified voters who may be “absent from the county of their residence” or “unable to appear personally at the polling place because of illness or physical disability.”
The RNC alleges that New York’s new voting law ignores this provision by permitting “qualified voters to vote by mail rather than in person, even if they do not satisfy either of the two limited exceptions set forth” in the state constitution.
“The Mail-Voting Law was enacted by the Legislature in open and knowing defiance of Article II, § 2, ignoring and subverting the will of the People whom the Legislature is supposed to represent,” the lawsuit reads. The suit’s plaintiffs — who were brought together with the assistance of Restoring Integrity and Trust in Elections (RITE) — include Republican Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney, among others.
In New York, the state legislature is granted the authority to propose amendments to ratify the state constitution. Those proposals are then considered by voters at the ballot box.
Roughly two years ago,
