🔴 Website 👉 https://u-s-news.com/
Telegram 👉 https://t.me/usnewscom_channel
Democrats are quick to label President Trump and other Republicans as “threats to democracy,” but their latest proposal in New York poses a far more concrete threat to the democratic process.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, prodded behind the scenes by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, is weighing a measure that would extend the timeline for special elections — just days before New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik vacates her seat to become ambassador to the United Nations.
The idea is to give a Democrat a better shot at replacing her while stymieing House Republicans — and it’s wrong.
A century-old law directs the governor of New York to call a special election within 10 days of any congressional vacancy, with the vote to be held 70 to 80 days later.
But the state Legislature’s sudden proposed change would stretch both the time to call the special election and the voting window, potentially delaying the vote until June or even November — and leaving Stefanik’s North Country district without representation for months.
By merging special elections with regularly scheduled contests and lengthening the campaign timeline, Democrats think they can boost turnout and gain additional time to organize and fundraise, an advantage not only in this impending race but in future special elections as well.
Jeffries personally lobbied Hochul and top state legislators to change the law — expressly to deprive House Republicans of a crucial vote.
With Stefanik’s confirmation expected this week and the seats of Florida’s Matt Gaetz and Mike Waltz now vacant, the GOP faces a razor-thin 217–215 majority.
By delaying a special election in a reliably Republican district, Hochul and her allies appear intent on stalling Trump’s House agenda — an ironic move for those who claim to defend democracy.
Rockland County Rep. Mike Lawler called the proposed delay “an outrageous abuse of power” that exposed Democratic hypocrisy — and even urged the Justice Department to open a RICO investigation into the matter.
Democrats argue that merging special elections with regular ones would spare counties from duplicative costs and logistical headaches.
Funny that they’re concerned with public costs when it comes to handcuffing their political opponents, while Hochul proposes to bloat the state budget by another $12 billion in the next fiscal year.
Meanwhile, extending the vacancy will keep the constituents of New York’s 21st District voiceless in Washington for months, silencing them in debates on vital federal issues.
Hochul and others in Albany claimed the proposed change is a matter of “voting rights,” citing the historically lower turnout of special elections.
But it’s hardly the first time New York Democrats have undermined the democratic process in the name of voters’ “rights.”
In 2022, they cited voter “equity” when they advanced a congressional redistricting map so egregiously partisan that the Court of Appeals struck it down for its unconstitutional gerrymandering that, for example, lumped heavily Republican Long Island with Democratic strongholds in Westchester and the Bronx.
Start and end your day informed with our newsletters
Morning Report and Evening Update: Your source for today’s top stories
Thanks for signing up!
In 2015, then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo stalled a special election in New York’s 11th District when GOP Rep. Michael Grimm resigned.
Staten Islanders sued, claiming the governor’s delay violated their constitutional right to representation, and US District Judge Jack Weinstein ruled in their favor.
Weinstein warned Cuomo that “unjustified delay . . . cannot be countenanced” and ordered him to set a special election date within two days. Only then did Cuomo comply.
Nor has Hochul herself been above such tactics: In 2022, she scheduled a special election for New York’s 19th District to coincide with the state’s congressional primaries — on the far end of the legally mandated window — in hopes of boosting Democratic turnout to favor Democrat Pat Ryan, Republicans charged.
Jeffries’ lobbying for a revised special-election law drew harsh criticism from House Speaker Mike Johnson, who slammed the maneuver as “an open display of political corruption.”
On Monday, state Democrats hit pause on introducing the bill — though, much like Hochul’s politically motivated congestion pricing delay, it could resurface at any moment.
The pattern is clear: For a party that claims to guard democracy, state Democrats seem all too willing to manipulate the rules for partisan advantage.
New Yorkers deserve election rules that prioritize fairness above all. We should not have to rely on state Republicans’ lawsuits or State Supreme Court rulings to protect voters from legislative dirty dealings.
If Democrats are serious about preserving “democracy,” they should protect the vote from political gamesmanship — and hold special elections according to the law on the books, not finesse them for partisan gain.
Paul Dreyer is a Cities Policy Analyst at the Manhattan Institute.