Town of Newburgh Settles New York State Voting Rights Act Lawsuit
By: Joseph T. Burns
The Town of Newburgh recently agreed to settle a lawsuit brought by town residents alleging the town’s system of electing members of the town board in at-large elections illegally dilutes the voting power of minority town residents. This lawsuit, which was filed under New York State’s Voting Rights Act, was originally commenced in 2024.
As part of the settlement, the Town of Newburgh agreed to change the method of electing members of the town board. Under the agreement, the town will now elect its town board members through ranked choice voting (RCV). Under the RCV system outlined in the agreement, voters will be able to rank candidates for town board with the candidate with the lowest number of first place votes being dropped and having his or her votes reallocated to the “continuing candidates.” This process continues until enough votes have been allocated to elect enough candidates for the number of seats available in the contest.
Newburgh will not be the first municipality in the State of New York to use ranked choice voting. New York City, the state’s largest local government, uses ranked choice voting in municipal elections. New York City, however, only uses ranked choice voting in primary elections for city offices and special elections for city offices.
Unlike Newburgh’s new ranked choice voting system, New York City’s was adopted through an amendment to the city charter in 2019. It was first used in primary elections for city offices – including mayor – in 2021. Ranked choice voting was again used in primary elections for city offices last year.
The Town of Newburgh, under the terms of this settlement, will use ranked choice voting in General Elections to elect members of the town board. New York City’s system of ranked choice is not used in General Elections for city offices.
The New York State Voting Rights Act, the law under which this lawsuit was brought, was enacted in 2022. Among other provisions, the state VRA establishes a vote dilution cause of action that enables voters or the state Attorney General to challenge a local government’s electoral system. The state VRA also contains a preclearance provision that mandates that certain local governments in New York State have any changes in voting or to their electoral system approved by the state Attorney General or certain courts before they can take effect.
The state VRA lawsuit against Newburgh was initially dismissed and the state VRA held unconstitutional by the trial court. That decision was reversed by the Appellate Division, Second Department, and the Second Department decision was affirmed by the New York State Court of Appeals.
Should you or your municipality face a state VRA lawsuit or need assistance with the state VRA preclearance process, feel free to reach out to one of our attorneys with experience in this area of law.
