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New York’s Voting Rights Act faces uncertain fate after judge strikes down law
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Nov 12, 2024
Modified Nov 12, 2024
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Reece T. Williams/Newsday RM via Getty Images
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Nov 12, 2024
Modified Nov 12, 2024
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New York Attorney General Letitia James is pushing back against a sweeping court ruling that strikes down a law meant to protect New Yorkers' right to participate in elections.
Supreme Court Judge Maria Vazquez-Doles in Hudson Valley ruled last Thursday that the entire New York Voting Rights Act is unconstitutional because it provides “enhanced rights” for certain races and ethnicities, violating the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause and the New York state constitution. The law seeks to protect democratic participation and prevent voter intimidation, suppression and dilution.
The ruling came in a case brought by three Black and three Hispanic residents who claimed the town of Newburgh’s at-large voting system improperly dilutes Black and Hispanic votes, preventing them from being able to elect a representative of their choice.
Newburgh is a majority-white town. Its at-large system allows every resident to vote for all elected town council positions, as opposed to a district-based system where voters can only vote for candidates in a specific geographic districts.
Vazquez-Doles rejected their arguments and ruled in favor of Newburgh, writing that the plaintiffs failed to meet a “strict-scrutiny” standard when bringing a case where race or national origin was the basis for unequal treatment, calling the legislation “extremely broad.”
James’ office followed that up with its own letter asking Vazquez-Doles if she intended to strike down the entire statute or just the provision related to vote dilution that was at issue in the case before her. James' office is not a party to the case, and the letter gave no indication James was considering intervening in the litigation. Her office declined to comment beyond the letter.
“The [New York Voting Rights Act] is a comprehensive voting rights statute that extends far beyond the vote dilution provisions concerning at-large electoral systems,” the letter states.
Specifically, James cited the law’s provisions related to language assistance and a prohibition on “voter intimidation, deception and obstruction” that were not at issue in this case.
The New York attorney general’s office helps administer the New York Voting Rights Act, including a “preclearance provision” that requires certain jurisdictions with histories of civil rights violations to seek approval before making changes to how they run elections.
In Vazquez-Doles decision declaring the law unconstitutional, she objected to the use of “extremely broad race and national origin-based legislation, which opens the door to an overhaul of the electoral system of defendant town of Newburgh that could be imposed by the court.” She also rejected combining Black and Hispanic voters into one group to determine if vote dilution exists in Newburgh.
The judge wrote that the law was so broadly written that “literally every person in the state of New York” could bring a claim that their vote was unlawfully diluted.
Newburgh Town Supervisor Gil Piaquadio praised the lower court’s decision.
“We are pleased by the court’s decision upholding our at-large voting system against the plaintiffs’ meritless lawsuit,” Gil Piaquadio, town of Newburgh supervisor, said in a statement.
“The court grounded its decision in the equal protection clause of the United States Constitution, vindicating the town’s commitment to protecting equally the constitutional rights of all of its residents,” he added.
The U.S. Supreme Court cited the equal protection clause in its ruling last year striking down affirmative action programs at colleges and universities.
New York lawmakers adopted the John Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York in 2022, after similar federal legislation died in Congress. Several other states including California and Washington adopted similar measures.
David Imamura, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said he believes the decision will be overturned on appeal.
“We are confident that the New York State Voting Rights Act is constitutional and that the appellate courts will agree with us,” Imamura said.
He also said he does not believe this decision will affect other cases brought under this law.
There are currently three other cases that were brought under the New York Voting Rights Act. Cases in Mount Pleasant in Westchester County and Cheektowaga in Erie County relate to their jurisdictions' respective at-large voting systems and allegations that the voting method dilutes the votes of minority residents.
Another case in Nassau County relates to how its legislative map was drawn during the redistricting process, which plaintiffs also argue dilutes the voting power of Black, Latino and Asian voters.
Correction: Due to an editing error, a previous version of this story misstated where Supreme Court Judge Maria Vazquez-Doles serves.
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Politics
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
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