The Erie County Legislature’s Republican lawmakers introduced a resolution Thursday, September 28 lambasting Albany’s effort to change the election cycle in New York State to even-numbered years. The measure, passed by the majority in both the state Assembly and Senate, was crafted without consulting local governments, who are most impacted by this change.
“By having local elections on the same year as federal elections, the local quality of life issues worthy of debate are drowned out by issues and races at the state and federal level. Local government operates closest to the people. Often times the issues a town or county representative addresses are those that more greatly impacts day to day life. But by lumping all these elections together, those issues won’t get nearly the attention they deserve,” said Minority Leader John Mills.
“This measure also disenfranchises voters. An 18-year old in November, 2026 would have to wait until they are 20-years-old to participate in an election. Candidates will have to deal with a crowded ballot and challenges in getting their message out when candidates at every level of government are competing for the same attention. No surprise that state lawmakers never consulted local governments about this,” said Erie County Legislator Frank Todaro.
“An advantage of having local elections on different years is you have a greater opportunity to seek change. Albany is making this move under the guise that it will save money. That’s simply not the case. This is nothing more than Albany saying they know best, and they don’t. They’re disrespecting the very communities they represent,” said Erie County Legislator Chris Greene.
“Not surprisingly, New York City is excluded from this measure. So, downstate lawmakers are telling us what to do without them playing by the same set of rules. Typical. It’s unfair. It’s not right. If this was such a great idea New York City would be included. The Big Apple being excluded tells you all you need to know. This move is completely driven by politics and our state representatives who supported this should be ashamed,” said Erie County Legislator Jim Malczewski.