By Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking & Jarret Berg
This week: Oswego County Has a New Map, Walden Challenges Ban on Using “Independence,” Senate Majority Announces Election Law Bill Package, Assemblywoman Simon Wants to Permit Water & Snacks on Poll Lines, RFK, Jr. Ballot Challenged, Jarret Berg Joins NY Law School Institute, Register Now for January 28th Census Conference
REDISTRICTING
Oswego County Legislature Approved New Map
The Oswego County Legislature approved a new redistricting map following a public hearing on January 7th. The new map was approved with support from 19 of the legislature’s 25 members. The legislature’s two Democratic members opposed the map and favored downsizing the legislature to better reflect population losses in the county.
LITIGATION
Walden Challenges State Law Banning “Independence” From Ballot
On January 6th, attorney and New York City mayoral candidate Jim Walden filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court of Eastern New York against the New York State and New York City Boards of Elections. Walden is seeking to run on the Independence Party line for the November 2025 general election.
Walden’s lawsuit focuses on a 2023 state law that added “Independence” and “Independent” to the list of words that Election Law §2-124(2) prohibited from being used on a ballot line. Prior to this amendment, the law had only prohibited five words or phrases from being used in the name of a political party: “American,” “Empire State,” “National,” “New York State,” and “United States.”
In his lawsuit, Walden alleges that this law violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit also calls the law a “naked attempt to limit competitive elections, enforcing a duopoly between the Democratic and Republican parties.”
In 2020, the Independence Party lost its ballot status because the party failed to meet a new threshold for third parties, which requires each party to submit a minimum of 130,000 votes or two percent of the total vote in order to remain on the ballot. The law at issue in this lawsuit was then passed in 2022 and went into effect in 2023.
Walden stated in a recent interview that it made sense for him to run on the Independence Party ballot line because some of his views are liberal and others are conservative. He also said that former Mayor Michael Bloomberg ran on this line in 2001, 2005, and 2009. It is important to note that a third-party challenge could play a pivotal role in this election, as the field of candidates in this race has not been solidified. As stated by Walden, “I’m confident that there’s enough purple that there’s a very wide path for me to win this race.”
On January 10th, Walden’s counsel submitted a proposed briefing schedule on behalf of himself and the New York State Board Defendants. The NYC Board of Election did not take a position on this schedule, but the parties requested that the Court order the schedule anyway “given the exigencies of the electoral calendar.”
ELECTION LEGISLATION
State Senate Majority Announces Election Law Bill Package
Today, the Senate Democratic Majority announced legislation to protect election workers, prevent voter disenfranchisement, introduce a process for “back-end” automatic voter registration, grant voters the ability to register at a secondary residence, partner with agencies to promote voter registration, and establish a uniform training curriculum for all election commissioners. The Democracy Preservation Act will protect New York’s state and local elections from foreign interference. This package of legislation continues the Senate Democratic Majority’s tradition of kicking off Session by passing major pro-voter, anti-disenfranchisement, and pro-democracy policies.
S1085 (Stewart-Cousins): Prohibits deceptive practices and voter suppression. High-profile recent examples of pernicious suppression misconduct includes a political consultant sending thousands of voicemails with false information to registered Democrats two days before the state’s presidential primary election using a generative AI model during the 2020 presidential election, when Arlington, VA based operatives Jacob Wohl and Jack Burkman sent out robocalls to 85,000 individuals located in predominately minority communities in Ne. w York, Illinois, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, disseminating intimidating voter misinformation.
- This legislation originally passed the senate in the 2009-10 session and is carried by the Senate Leader. The proposal passed the Senate unanimously in 2023 and 2024 (S263). The legislation has not been advanced by the Assembly, but was introduced in 2024 (A8608 (Lavine)).
S324 (Gianaris) / A1258 (Walker): Enacts the democracy preservation act, which defines and prohibits contributions by “foreign-influenced business entities” and requires that business entities that make political expenditures or contributions file with the state board of elections certifying that they are not foreign-influenced
- This legislation passed the Senate on a bipartisan basis in 2023 (50-13) and 2024 (48-14). In the Assembly, this legislation has previously been carried by Chair Walker (A2633-2024) and is supported by 23 additional co-sponsors, but has not advanced out of committee.
S1036 (Myrie): Codifies the voting rights of second-home owners and college students, by clarifying that an otherwise-eligible voter may register to vote at any residence to which the voter maintains a continuous connection with an intent to remain, including a second or vacation home or home where a student lives while attending a college or university.
- This legislation Passed the Senate in 2023 (40-21) and 2024 (41-20), largely on a party line vote, although in 2024 the Ranking Republican on Senate Elections (Walczyk) voted with the majority in support of this proposal. The legislation advanced to the floor of the Assembly in 2022, and was also introduced in 2024 (A10549 (Carroll)).
S88 (Gianaris): Proposes changes to New York’s previously enacted (2020) automatic voter registration (AVR) program and procedures, the implementation of which has been unduly delayed for over a year. The proposal uses citizenship verification procedures in place for driver’s licenses and Medicaid enrollment to filter those who are or are not clearly US citizens in or out of AVR. Individuals with indeterminate citizenship would be required to affirmatively indicate eligibility and select registration, instead of being automatically channeled into the opt-out process (ie, AVR), to reduce the risk of mistaken registration by ineligible persons.
- This legislation Passed the Senate on a party line vote in 2024 (40-19). The legislation was introduced in the Assembly in 2024 (A9732A (Reyes)) but did not advance
S1087 (Mayer): Makes election commissioners full time employees of county boards of elections outside New York City, improving professionalism and consistency in election administration across the state and ensuring that officials responsible for overseeing multiple election events each year have full-time staff and greater capacity.
- This legislation passed the Senate in 2024 and 2023 on party lines (S611B). In the Assembly, this legislation (A919B (Jacobson)) did not advance out of committee, but had 15 additional co-sponsors in 2024.
S569 (May): Authorizes countywide polling places on Election Day, improving convenience and voter access while reducing potential for targeted foul play.
- This legislation passed the Senate in 2024 (46-15) and 2023 (45-16) with bipartisan support. In the Assembly (A6939-2024), the legislation has not been voted on by the Election Law committee.
S1030 (Gonzalez): require public-facing websites operated by political committees to contain “paid for by” language and adds such public-facing websites to the list of political communications that qualify as independent expenditures.
- This legislation passed the Senate unanimously in 2023 and 2024 (S6675 (Breslin)), but has not been voted on by the Assembly’s Election Law Committee (A7095-2024 (McDonald)).
S1356 (Skoufis): Directs the State Board of Elections to join a multistate voter list maintenance organization such as the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) in order to keep New York voter rolls up to date as citizens move into, out of, and around the state or pass away. Maintaining accurate voter rolls reduces the opportunity for foul play, and helps build confidence in the accuracy of elections.
- This legislation passed the Senate unanimously in 2024 and 2023. In the Assembly (A7052C (Sillitti)), the bill was advanced to the floor in 2024.
S1035 (Myrie) / A1228 (Seawright): Requires the State Board of Elections to create a mandatory, uniform training curriculum for all election commissioners to ensure consistent training of Election Commissioners, improving professionalism and quality of local election administration.
- This legislation passed the Senate in 2024 (56-4) and 2023 (55-6) with wide bipartisan support. In the Assembly, this bill (A10640 (Seawright)) has been around for several years but has not been brought up for a floor vote.
Assemblywoman Simon Introduces Bill to Permit Food & Drink at Polls
Assemblywoman Joanne Simon (D-Kings) has reintroduced legislation (A.1241) to permit the distribution of water or snacks to voters waiting in line at the polls. The legislation is intended to permit organizations to distribute items of nominal value to voters to avoid losing one’s place in line. Similar legislation was introduced in the past two legislative sessions. There is no Senate sponsor at this time.
ELECTIONS
RFK Jr.’s New York State November Vote is Challenged
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s problems with the New York election laws might not be over. After his unsuccessful federal and state court fight to get on the ballot to run for president last year, he now faces accusations of improperly voting in November’s elections.
The complaint, filed with New York State Board of Elections, calls on the agency’s Division of Election Law Enforcement to investigate Kennedy for “registering for and voting” from “a New York residence at which he does not legally reside. The complaint explained that Kennedy voted by voted by a mail ballot received by the Westchester Board of Elections on November 2nd.
The New York election law states that anyone “[k]nowingly votes or offers or attempts to vote at any election, when not qualified; or, … Votes or offers or attempts to vote at an election, … in an election district or from a place where he does not reside” is guilty of a felony. N.Y. Elec. Law § 17-132(3).
According to the complaint, the law “also provides that any person who “[k]nowingly gives a false residence within the election district when registering as an elector” is guilty of a felony. N.Y. Elec. Law § 17-104(4).”
Jarret Berg Joins New York Law School As a Fellow
Jarret Berg has joined New York Law School’s N.Y. Elections, Redistricting & Census Institute as a Fellow. Berg will be focusing on the state’s elections process and election law activity by the state legislature and state/local election boards.
Berg is a New York attorney and voting rights advocate experienced in protecting and advancing civil and political rights. He co-founded the non-partisan education non-profit VoteEarlyNY to ensure modern voter access policies are implemented responsibly. As the former Executive Director of the New York Democratic Lawyers Council (NYDLC), Berg served as statewide Voter Protection Director from 2016-2018 and has participated in election monitoring programs in several states.
He is engaged in various efforts to reform American democracy and has been involved for several election cycles as a legal consultant, voter protection attorney, and constituency organizer. As former counsel to a member of the NYS Legislature, Berg helped develop legislation across a wide array of policy areas.
Berg studied international law in the United Kingdom and worked for the Chambers of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, assisting with the situations in Darfur, Kenya, and Congo. His 2010 article on high seas Somali-piracy was published in the New England Law Review, where Berg served as an executive editor.
Berg holds an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge, a J.D. with high honors from New England Law | Boston, and a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in journalism from Boston University.
UPCOMING EVENTS
New York “American Community Survey” Census Conference
January 28, 2025- Census” “ACS On the Road” – Join New York Law School, New York Counts, the Population Reference Bureau, New York City Planning Department, and the U.S. Census Bureau to learn how different data users in New York City use American Community Survey (ACS) data. We will conclude with small breakout sessions where you will have the opportunity to interact with Census Bureau staff and share what you need to better use ACS data in your own work. The event will be held at New York Law School, 185 West Broadway, Manhattan from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Registration is required. You can register here: https://nyls.wufoo.com/forms/qnqo80v1iobqqa/
INSTITUTE RESOURCES
The New York Elections, Census and Redistricting Institute has archived many resources for the public to view on our Digital Commons Page.
Our Redistricting Resources page contains resources on the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act. You can access the page
here: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/redistricting_resources/
Archived Updates can be accessed
here: https://digitalcommons.nyls.edu/redistricting_roundtable_updates/
Please share this weekly update with your colleagues. To be added to the mailing list, please contact Jeffrey.wice@nyls.edu
The N.Y. Elections, Census & Redistricting Institute is supported by grants from the New York Community Trust, New York Census Equity Fund and the New York City Council. This report was prepared by Jeff Wice, Alexis Marking & Jarret Berg.