Court leaves New York absentee ballot rules in place for Nov. 8 election

New Yorkers can still use COVID-19 as an excuse to vote by mail in the Nov. 8 election despite protests from Republicans over how Albany Democrats changed absentee voting laws, a state appellate panel ruled Tuesday.

“Election matters are extremely time sensitive and finding these statutes unconstitutional at this late date would impose ‘impossible burdens’ upon the State and local Boards of Elections to conduct this election in a timely and fair manner,” reads the 10-page decision.

The state Republican and Conservative parties had argued that the Legislature overstepped its bounds by passing laws allowing New Yorkers to cite the danger of coronavirus as a reason for requesting an absentee ballot.

Another law requiring local Boards of Election to count mail votes as they come in, rather than waiting until after Election Day, also faced legal scrutiny because it barred New Yorkers from changing their mind after they sent the ballots.

“In our view, granting petitioners the requested relief during an ongoing election would be extremely disruptive and profoundly destabilizing and prejudicial to candidates, voters and the State and local Boards of Elections,” the ruling stated.

The Tuesday decision overturned a ruling last month by a Saratoga County judge who said the state law affecting absentee counting violated the state constitution while stopping short of tossing all mail ballots obtained using COVID as an excuse.

Democrats loosened absentee rules during the pandemic after voters rejected a proposed amendment to the state Constitution last year that would have allowed no-excuse absentee voting in the Empire State.

The Tuesday ruling will likely help Democrats more than the GOP considering the backlash against mail balloting among Republicans at the behest of former President Donald Trump.

State absentee laws could still face legal challenges — but not before voting in key statewide and congressional races ends, according to state Conservative Party Chair Gerard Kassar.

“The decision was directed at the timing more than at the legal issues,” Kassar said. “For this election, it’s time to work within the decision, go forward and plan to raise the issues against at a latter date.”

Democrats have argued that the legal challenge effectively sought to disenfranchise voters and cause mass confusion over whether ballots already cast would still count if the courts threw out the existing laws.

“We should be taking every step possible to empower voters and ease New Yorkers’ access to the polls,” state Attorney General Letitia James. “I was proud to defend New York’s absentee ballot reforms, and am happy with the decision to keep these commonsense election integrity initiatives in place. As Attorney General, I will always fight against efforts to infringe on the right to vote and make it harder for New Yorkers to make their voices heard.”