Rockland wins lawsuit against NY state, will not reschedule elections

The County of Rockland has won a lawsuit filed in response to a State of New York law that demanded local elections occur only in even numbered years, cutting terms for all county officials down a year – a direct violation of our local charter – and ultimately forcing local races to be overshadowed by State and Federal elections.

The State Legislators who voted for this bill almost entirely represent cities which are not impacted and will continue to have their elections when they choose, while suburban and rural legislators which are impacted, voted 2 to 1 against this legislation.

“Local governments are the most responsive and responsible to the everyday person and play a vital governance role for drinking water, social services, sewage, zoning, schools, roads, parks, police, courts, jails, trash disposal — and more- and we have a constitutional right to say how our local officials are chosen and thanks to this victory that will continue,” said County Executive Day.

On April 22, 2024, the County of Rockland filed a lawsuit against the State of New York to preserve the rights of the people of Rockland County to choose when and how often they vote to select their elected officials.

“The court agreed with Rockland and the several other counties who argued against the law, ruling that this State law ‘does not pass the smell test’,” County Attorney Thomas Humbach noted.  County Attorney Humbach further summarizes the decision which says in part, “accepting the State’s view of the law would make the New York Constitution a mirage of constitutional rights, much like the constitution of the USSR; while those rights may appear on paper, when one attempts to use them they disappear, and the counties of New York get reduced to colonial outposts of the Empire State.”