ALBANY, N.Y. — New York’s expanded absentee-ballot laws will remain in place with less than a week to go before Election Day, an appeals court ruled.
A five-judge appeals court panel upheld the state’s mail-in ballot laws on Tuesday, issuing a ruling saying that it would be “extremely disruptive” to change the system with voting already underway.
The decision reversed a lower court ruling that sided with state Republican and Conservative parties who sued to block the early review of absentee ballots and a law allowing New Yorkers to vote by mail if they fear contracting COVID.
“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 states.
Conservative critics sued to strike down a law allowing anyone to vote absentee if they are concerned about catching or spreading an infectious disease, such as coronavirus, as well as a separate statute requiring election officials to process and ready ballots for counting ahead of Election Day.
Democrats and voting-rights groups celebrated the eleventh-hour win.
“We applaud this decision, and as Democrats, we remain steadfast in defending against any efforts to subvert free and fair elections, and we will make sure every single voter’s voice is heard this year and every year,” state Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs said in a statement.
Donna Lieberman, executive director with the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the ruling will protect “access to the polls for vulnerable New Yorkers.”
“This baseless lawsuit would have only served to sow chaos and confusion, undermining public confidence in our electoral system,” she added.
The Republican-led lawsuit argued that a recently enacted law expediting absentee ballot canvassing was unconstitutional since it could hamper the ability of a judicial review of problematic ballots.
Saratoga County state Supreme Court Justice Dianne Freestone agreed in a decision last month and also ruled against another recent law allowing voters who feared getting sick to send in absentee ballots.
That decision was stayed pending appeal, sowing chaos across the state as Republican election commissioners refused to commit to processing absentee ballots.
More than 550,000 absentee ballots were sent out to voters, and around 188,000 have already been returned, according to the state Board of Elections.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot ahead of the Nov. 8 general election has already passed. However, voters can still apply for an absentee ballot in person at local election offices through Nov. 7.
During oral arguments before the appeals court on Tuesday, lawyers for the Republican plaintiffs told the panel that the lower court ruling should stand.
“We have a statute that is expedient. It sacrifices accuracy; it sacrifices the truth,” attorney John Ciampoli told the judges.
Attorney General Letitia James, who issued a letter last week calling on election officials to proceed with processing ballots while the appeal played out, applauded Tuesday’s decision.
“We should be taking every step possible to empower voters and ease New Yorkers’ access to the polls,” she said in a statement. “I was proud to defend New York’s absentee-ballot reforms, and am happy with the decision to keep these common-sense election integrity initiatives in place.”
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