The New York State Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday (August 20) that the “New York Early Voting by Mail Act” does not violate the state constitution, rejecting a lawsuit filed by Republicans.
According to reports from Reuters, the New York State Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s ruling with a vote of 6-1, stating that voters do not need any reason to vote by mail.
The “New York Early Voting by Mail Act” was signed by Democratic New York Governor Kathy Hochul in September of last year and took effect on January 1st of this year.
This law allows all registered voters to apply for early voting by mail without any reason; previously, voters had to provide a valid reason for not being able to vote in person in order to apply for absentee voting.
Republicans argued in the lawsuit that the law violated the state constitution because voters had already rejected a constitutional amendment on “no-excuse absentee voting” in a public vote in 2021.
On September 20 last year, Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik and others filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court seeking to block the implementation of the “New York Early Voting by Mail Act,” but the lawsuit was dismissed in February of this year.
Then in May of this year, the New York State Appellate Division also dismissed the Republicans’ appeal.
Chief Justice Rowan Wilson acknowledged that this ruling may be seen as disregarding the will of the voters who participated in the 2021 public referendum.
Congresswoman Stefanik said in a statement that “today’s decision fundamentally shows that for over a century, New York’s elected officials, voters, and judges have misunderstood their own state’s constitution.”
Governor Hochul posted on X, calling the ruling a “victory for democracy.”
Since the controversy surrounding the 2020 U.S. presidential election results, many Republican lawmakers in various states have proposed that voters should provide reasons when applying for absentee voting and have pushed for improving election procedures to make them more rigorous, transparent, and fair.
As the 2024 presidential election approaches, Republicans are intensively challenging the legality of mail-in voting. According to statistics from the online platform Democracy Docket, out of the 64 election lawsuits filed by Republicans, 33 specifically target mail-in voting, with these cases currently being litigated.
Republicans believe that loosening the conditions for applying for mail-in voting could lead to electoral fraud and undermine voters’ confidence in the electoral system.