NY voters can opt for mail ballots this fall after top court rejects GOP legal challenge

All New Yorkers will have the option to vote by mail instead of in person this fall after the state's highest court rejected a Republican attempt to overturn a 2023 law authorizing mail ballots for any voters.

The Court of Appeals decision on Tuesday preserved New Yorkers' ability to vote by mail for state and federal offices this November, including what are expected to be tight races for critical House seats. Democratic state lawmakers had passed the law over Republican opposition to try to increase election participation by giving voters another way to cast their ballots.

The law made New York one of 36 states in the U.S. that allow or require all voters to vote by mail. It made permanent a practice used in New York elections for three years during the pandemic, when everyone was given the ability to request absentee ballots. That temporary step ended with the November 2022 election.

The Republican lawsuit, led by New York Rep. Elise Stefanik, argued the mail-ballot law violated part of the state constitution that allows voters to request absentee ballots if they're sick or disabled or away from home on election day. They said that meant all other voters must vote in person, preventing a broad expansion of mail voting.





https://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/08/20/ny-mail-ballots-use-in-elections-ok-by-top-court-rejecting-gop-effort-to-stop/74802206007/