New York state’s universal vote-by-mail law is being challenged by legal watchdog groups who argue the changes to election procedures are unconstitutional.
A court brief was filed in the New York State Court of Appeals seeking to overturn a law passed by the New York State Assembly and signed by Governor Kathy Hawkle that allows all registered voters in the state to vote by mail.
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is leading the effort on behalf of several Republican leaders, including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Claudia Tenney.
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A polling officer sorts mail-in ballots at a San Francisco City Hall polling station. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
New Yorkers overwhelmingly voted against universal mail-in voting in a 2021 referendum seeking a constitutional amendment.
Democratic lawmakers averted the referendum’s failure simply by passing an expansion of mail-in voting in the state Legislature, which Democratic Gov. Kathy Hockle signed into law late last year.
J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, charged that with this law, the New York State Legislature “unconstitutionally passed a law allowing every registered voter to vote by mail.”
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This photo illustration shows an absentee mail-in ballot for the 2020 general election sent by the Bronx Borough Board of Elections in New York City. (Lev Ladin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
“The language of the New York State Constitution prohibits the expansion of mail-in voting,” Adams added. “If the New York State Legislature wants to expand mail-in voting, they would need to pass a constitutional amendment.”
Democrats say the expanded access to absentee ballots has made the democratic process easier for voters, while critics say the changes to the process have made voter fraud much easier.
This is not the first time the Public Interest Law Foundation has been in court opposing the expansion of absentee voting eligibility.
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Chester County election officials process mail-in and absentee ballots for the 2020 U.S. general election at West Chester University in West Chester, Pennsylvania. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The foundation previously led a 2022 lawsuit against a similar law in Delaware.
The campaign initially had some success after a state Superior Court ruled against a proposed permanent expansion of absentee voting.
But in a 5-0 decision last month, the New York State Supreme Court overturned that decision, finding that the Public Interest Law Foundation did not have standing to be a party to the lawsuit.
