Posted on 02/01/2025 12:05:05 PM PST by Libloather
Albany lawmakers are plotting to keep a critical House seat vacant until June or even later in an effort to thwart President Trump’s legislative agenda.
Lawmakers from both the state Assembly and Senate met Friday to discuss changes to the state’s election law that would allow the governor to delay special elections and push off any pending ones until the June primaries — or even the general election in November.
The dead-of-night discussions ostensibly were about how to save time and money by consolidating elections into a single day — but in actual fact appear targeted at the soon-to-be vacated seat of GOP Rep. Elise Stefanik.
Stefanik — who Trump tapped to be the US Ambassador to the United Nations — is expected to resign her seat to take up the post in the coming days. The vacancy will create headaches for House Republicans who are already struggling to manage a razor-thin majority stocked with frequently unwieldy members.
Stefanik’s district is in deep red north country and she would almost certainly be replaced by another Republican in a special election.
Under the current law, when Stefanik officially resigns, Gov. Hochul must declare a special election within 10 days and the election must take place 80 to 90 days after that declaration.
The Democratic-dominated state legislature, however, could rewrite the rules.
Minority Republicans have little power in either chamber.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The only way to protect Our Democracy™ is by preventing the people from voting for their representative.
She could thwart them by not resigning; turning down the post to which she was appointed?
I don’t know the law on such matters, but the Republicans would have a good case in the underlying equities if Stefanik resigned before any such change. Her resignation would trigger an automatic timetable under existing law. A subsequent action by the legislative would be a retroactive intervention in an election already in process. That should be a big no no.
And this time around, the democrats don’t have the “because covid” excuse to deem it an emergency situation.
That would make sense at this point.
Those Democrats really love democracy!
No- always working the corners. If they don’t like the rules they ignore or abolish the rules
there is that democracy
they are always yapping about
Trump’s appointments leave valuable seats exposed but you don’t want to disqualify good talent he wishes to appoint.
Perhaps the senate model might work where the governor is REQUIRED to appoint someone of the leaving members’ party to the seat. The empty seat party’s bigwigs could decide on 2-3 candidates.
Thank you.
I wonder if there is any law against her being both U.S. Ambassador and a U.S. Representative at the same time? If not, just don’t resign and hold both positions.
Why should she resign? Many people hold two jobs. She could hold the two jobs until the special election is held in NYS.
All she needs to do in Congress is vote to support President Trump. She could fly to DC the day of key legislative votes (important bills, bills with a R slim).
If Democrats want to play hardball, then she should play even harder ball. This would also have the benefit of her constituents always having representation in Congress.
If they do this, President Trump should move to invoke the 14th amendment on Hokul:
14th Amendment Section 2
Representatives shall be apportioned among the several States according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each State, excluding Indians not taxed. But when the right to vote at any election for the choice of electors for President and Vice-President of the United States, Representatives in Congress, the Executive and Judicial officers of a State, or the members of the Legislature thereof, is denied to any of the male inhabitants of such State, being twenty-one years of age, and citizens of the United States, or in any way abridged, except for participation in rebellion, or other crime, the basis of representation therein shall be reduced in the proportion which the number of such male citizens shall bear to the whole number of male citizens twenty-one years of age in such State.
If the Democrats in New York move to keep the people of NY-21 from choosing a new Representative in Congress, Trump should move to have a Democrat district vacated until such time as NY-21 is allowed to hold an election.
-PJ
ex post facto laws are unconstitutional
YES
You mean like the retroactive tax increases under Clinton that no court blocked?
I don't think the Constitution has counted for much for a long time. Sad.
Would this have been their strategy if a fellow Dumpstercrat had been the incumbent vacating the post? (=rhetorical)
Could she not resign tomorrow before they can change the law?
If NY legislature does extend time to election after vacancy the DOJ OCR could sue NYS on behalf of the district.
Potentially NYS could face more federal monitoring , voter ID, paper ballots in addition to moving election to where it was before following the vacancy.
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