Rockland County Executive Day Presses Hochul to Veto Election Bills

M.C. Millman

Yesterday, Rockland County Executive Ed Day sent a letter, found here,  to Governor Kathy Hochul, urging her to veto two bills coming her way that would detrimentally impact local elections.

The two bills, A04282, and S3505B, would force local elections to occur in even years. This would ultimately cause State and Federal elections to overshadow local races. Until now, County elections were in odd years, which allowed those elections to focus on and address solely local issues. If the new bills pass, they will negatively impact municipalities because people will be less likely to vote on local matters and will instead focus on the broader issues of a Federal election. 

"In the already crowded newsroom, there will be no room at all for local candidates to express their wishes and desires for office," explains Day. "There will be no time for voters to learn about the Federal, State, and local races all in the same election season."

Day describes these bills as "a clear unconstitutional violation of the voting rights and local races out of New York City. He says the "silent vote" by New York Lawmakers, which was rushed through covertly in the dead of night without involving hardworking taxpayers "can only be described as a power grab."

Day signed off his letter with a final line: "On behalf of the people of Rockland, I demand you veto this bill that is a clear attack on local elections."