A coalition of Republican organizations recently filed a lawsuit against New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) over her signing of a bill to expand absentee voting across New York. The lawsuit was led by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY).
Hochul recently signed a series of measures to expand voting access, including a measure that makes the process for obtaining an absentee ballot, easier.
“We are further cementing New York’s place as a national leader on voting rights,” Hochul wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “By safeguarding the integrity of our electoral process and ensuring equal access to the ballot box, we empower every New Yorker to have their voice heard.”
We are further cementing New York’s place as a national leader on voting rights.
By safeguarding the integrity of our electoral process and ensuring equal access to the ballot box, we empower every New Yorker to have their voice heard. pic.twitter.com/s0B33N9jB1
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) September 20, 2023
Stefanik questioned the constitutionality of Hochul’s measure, arguing that it would “remove basic safeguards on absentee voting and [allow] unregulated mass mail ballots in clear violation of the state constitution.”
The New York congresswoman, who filed the lawsuit against Hochul, was joined by members of the New York Delegation, the Republican National Committee (RNC), the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), New York’s Republican Party, and the Conservative Party of New York State (CPNY).
“Kathy Hochul and extreme New York Democrats are trying to destroy what is left of election integrity in New York,” Stefanik said. “Under Kathy Hochul’s failed leadership, elections are less secure and less transparent and will now be unconstitutional. As a New York voter, I am proud to lead this coalition in defending basic election integrity on behalf of all New Yorkers.”
BREAKING NEWS: I will always stand up for election integrity for NYers which is why today I filed a lawsuit against Kathy Hochul with members of the NY Delegation, @GOP, @NRCC, @NewYorkGOP, and @cpny challenging the unconstitutional unregulated mass mail ballots in New York… pic.twitter.com/SJLe9H5gTq
— Elise Stefanik (@EliseStefanik) September 20, 2023
As Stefanik said, New York’s state constitution only allows absentee ballots to be directed toward sick individuals or those who cannot make it to vote in person on Election Day because of a given illness or valid reason. Overruling the constitution, Hochul’s measure would allow anyone to receive an absentee ballot in the Empire State.
In 2021, New York voters rejected a constitutional amendment that would have enshrined absentee ballot access across the state.
Former Rep. Joe Sempolinski (R-NY) told Just The News that Hochul’s measure “blatantly violates the spirit of the constitution and is a pretty transparent attempt to avoid violating the letter of the constitution to put in place something the voters roundly rejected only two years ago.”
