The New York Voting Rights Act has been reinstated by a state appellate court
And environmental justice could soon be part of the review by state and local governments for new projects.
Good afternoon — it’s Thursday and National Croissant Day.
In today’s CapCon:
The New York Voting Rights Act was upheld as constitutional by an appellate court Thursday.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is making moves to implement a law that inserts environmental justice into siting decisions.
How much would Hochul’s proposal to have officers on the New York City subway overnight actually cost?
⚖️ N.Y.’s Voting Rights Act has been reinstated by an appellate court
The New York Voting Rights Act does not violate the state or federal constitution, a state appellate court ruled Thursday.
That reverses a decision from a state Supreme Court justice in Orange County, who wrote in a decision that the law conflicts with federal court precedent.
The lawsuit was brought by residents in the town of Newburgh (not the city) who argued that the town’s at-large election system violates the law because of how it allegedly dilutes the vote of the town’s racial minorities.
An at-large system is when voters choose multiple people on the ballot for town-wide positions. Rather than have individual election districts, voters across the municipality choose four people out of who’s on the ballot to sit on the Town Board. The four candidates with the most votes win.
All the elected board members in the town are white. The residents argued in the lawsuit that, because about 40% of the town’s population is Black or Hispanic, the at-large voting system dilutes the racially polarized electorate in violation of the state law.
The town responded by arguing that the law violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantees everyone equal treatment under the law.
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