By Jeff Wice with Jennifer Hutz & Alexis Marking.
N.Y. VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
By Jeff Wice with Ahmed Hussein, Jordan Karpoff & Alexis Marking
REDISTRICTING & VOTING RIGHTS ACT LITIGATION
Orange County:Clarke et al. v. Town of Newburgh
In January, three Black and three Hispanic residents of Newburgh filed this lawsuit, claiming the town’s at-large election system for Town Board elections has prevented Black and Hispanic residents from electing candidates of their choice, thus violating the N.Y. Voting Rights Act.
by Jeff Wice & Alexis Marking
ELECTIONS
State Board of Elections Sued Over the Equal Rights Amendment’s Ballot Language
A new law enacted last year requires ballot language for voter referendum questions in New York State to be written in plain language at “no higher than an eighth-grade reading level.” The ballot language for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was approved to appear on the November ballot, has … <Read More>
By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking
VOTING RIGHTS
Mt. Pleasant: Town Board Challengers Ask For Court Conference
Attorneys for the voters challenging Westchester County’s town board over vote dilution issues under the state’s voting rights act have asked Judge David Everett of Westchester County State Supreme Court to schedule a conference to resolve a dispute between the challengers and the town’s Industrial Development Agency. The challengers argue that the agency needs to provide more … <Read More>
By Jeff Wice and Alexis Marking
VOTING RIGHTS
Attorney General To Intervene in Cheektowaga Voting Rights Act Challenge
New York State Attorney General Letitia James has informed the Erie County State Supreme Court that her office will intervene in the state voting rights act challenge filed against the Town of Cheektowaga over town board vote dilution. In that case, the town is challenging the constitutionality of the New York … <Read More>
REDISTRICTING
Orange County Legislature Fails to Advance New Map
The Orange County Legislature failed to advance three county legislative draft maps to the public hearing stage after a meeting on July 26th lost its quorum of legislators necessary to move the maps to the next stage. The county needs to have a new map in place before petitioning for the 2025 primary gets underway next year.