Republican groups and lawmakers are suing the state of New York and Governor Kathy Hochul (D) over efforts to open absentee voting to all residents without needing an excuse for why they cannot vote in person.
Those involved in the lawsuit include the Republican National Committee, National Republican Congressional Committee, New York GOP, and New York Conservative Party along with the Republican members of the Empire State’s congressional delegation.
New York GOP Chairman Ed Cox explained, “This cynical attempt to overrule the will of the voters and undermine the Democratic process is being challenged in court.”
“Rather than work to stem the flow of our most productive taxpaying citizens out of the state, radical progressives are working to manipulate elections in their favor in their pursuit of power at all costs.”
According to the lawsuit, “The Mail-Voting Law is a blatant violation of Article II, § 2 of the New York State Constitution, which requires qualified voters to cast their vote in any election in person at their designated polling places unless they will be unable to do so because, on the occurrence of any such election, they will either be (a) absent from their county of residence (or the City of New York if they reside in New York City) or (b) unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or physical disability. These are the only exceptions to the requirements in Article II, § 2 that qualified voters must vote in person.”
In 2021, New York rejected a constitutional amendment that would have expanded mail-in voting.
“Although New Yorkers had voted for many expansions of mail voting in the past, they decided that his proposal went too far,” the lawsuit asserts.
Reporting from Townhall:
House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, a member of the New York delegation and a party to the lawsuit, slammed "Kathy Hochul and extreme New York Democrats" for "trying to destroy what is left of election integrity in New York" after already making elections "less secure and less transparent" and now "unconstitutional." "As a New York voter, I am proud to lead this coalition in defending basic election integrity on behalf of all New Yorkers," said Stefanik.
