New York judge rules voting by mail due to COVID fears is unconstitutional
By: YahooNews
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
A judge in New York ruled that voting by mail over fears of the coronavirus is unconstitutional.
The Democrat-controlled legislature "appears poised to continue the expanded absentee voting provisions of New York State Election Law … in an Orwellian perpetual state of health emergency and cloaked in the veneer of 'voter enfranchisement,'" Saratoga County Supreme Court Justice Dianne Freestone, a Republican, wrote in her ruling Friday.
The 28-page ruling ordered local election boards to stop counting absentee ballots they've already received and to "preserve" them until after Election Day on Nov. 8 or after the resolution of a lawsuit filed by Republicans in the state. The ruling does not invalidate ballots that have already been mailed.
In 2020, delays, litigation and mistakes by election boards that faced a flood of absentee ballots led to long waits for election results. The Democratic-controlled legislature eventually passed a law allowing for early counting of absentee voting.
Republicans in the state celebrated the ruling as a win for election integrity.
"Let's hope now that they preserve our ability to make sure that our elections are done with integrity and that voters are verified and that this system of absentee balloting - just like the voters said last November that they didn't want no-excuse absentee voting, essentially mail-in voting - that it is held to a high standard, that way to ensure that each citizen gets one vote," New York state Rep. Robert Smullen and plaintiff in the lawsuit said, according to WRGB.
Democratic leaders in the state appealed the ruling and are pushing for a stay.
A "Vote Here" sign outside a polling place in Reading, Pennsylvania, on May 18, 2021.
A nonpartisan election-reform group called Common Cause New York said the ruling "might not even go into effect for this election," the New York Post reported.
"And, even if it does, it would only affect the time and way absentee ballots are counted - you can still vote absentee as planned, and your ballot will still be counted," the group added.
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It's not like the Democrats care. I'll be they will still continue to push this unconstitutional bullshit.
Dems need to come to Colorado to be schooled in the correct way to do mail-in voting
Voting by mail is unconstitutional a republican judge states. So, according to her, all elections since the Civil War were unconstitutional?
Voting by Mail Dates Back to America’s Earliest Years.
Your extrapolation is misguided. She issued a split ruling last week that found New York's absentee ballot laws are partially unconstitutional, her decision stopped short of overturning a change in Election Law that allows someone to vote by absentee ballot if they fear contracting COVID-19.
It looks like the NY State Legislature didn't get the White House memo that said the COVID-19 pandemic is over.
Where in the constitution does it state that voting by mail is only legal during pandemics?
State or Federal? What is the bases for your question?
Some states only vote by mail (largely republican).
Yep, called that one ..... Fauci news conference to follow ....
Morning...one of the advantages of compulsory voting as we have.. everyone has to vote either by postal or going to the polling booth no matter where you are.
The whole electrol system over there really does need to be over hauled. It seems to be one big ever ongoing nightmare...
We have State elections next month..we know it, we vote before or on the day, end of story. Had Federal elections in May. Change of Government, no one bats an eye lid and we all move on..
Honestly between you mob and the Brits at the moment it enough for a Koala to fall out of the tree laughing...🐨🐨
Yep .... liberty and freedom of choice is a bitch ..... so is an independent sense of civil responsibility.
Can you vote "none of the above" and remain in compliance with your law?
Morning drinker...if you do not wish to vote you do not have to..
So long as your name is removed from the register that's it. It's been acknowledged you had the given right to vote, but then it is up to you if you wish to do so...
So I can walk to the booth, tell them my name address, they rule it off and turn around and walk out. End of story...
Or go in register, collect the ballot papers, fold them up and put them in the box and walk out without filling them in.
Can draw all over the ballot papers and put them in the box and go...there are endless possibilities for voting informal..
The bottom line, you have been blessed with the right to vote...it is up to you how you use it...
No reason they shouldn't have been...even down Antarctica we vote... can't get much more remote than that..or colder.
When you compare our systems to other countries I think we are both very fortunate..
We do get the opportunity to vote and have our say...and that is something that should never be taken for granted.
Agree, I’m told that in the past, before mail-in became more common, mail-in military votes were set aside and only counted if the election was close. Don’t know if true or not. I know that the Army always put a big spotlight on voting and help soldiers figure out how to get ballots from all of our different states.
I think it might depend on the state and what all is on the ballot. I remember a story from the 2020 election where someone was bitching (don't remember what party) about uncounted ballots in I think it was Florida. And the answer was those were overseas military ballots and the practice was to count them only in close races, otherwise they were tossed away. I think it was Florida, but I'm not sure. It was just one of those many stories that were passed on election night.
Morning Snuffy...every vote is counted here regardless of how close the vote is...even the invalid ones...
That way they can also tell in which electorates people are totally miffed off with...and none of the candidates are worth it... sends a message to the relevant parties as well.
Our cousin almost got in a bind by mailing the ballots a day early at the airport on her way here to the states.
but the cool thing was that she could check online in the states to see when the ballots were acknowledged to having been received.
Voting laws are set by the individual state. It becomes a nightmare when the Federal Government gets involved in things they shouldn't.
Only registered voters can receive ballots, right? People have to be on the rolls, right? What difference is it supposed to make how their votes are delivered to the ballot box?
We bank and do taxes online. Voting should be easy!
Voting is in Virginia.
Both .... ridiculous comparisons.
Yes, and banks; credit card companies; and the IRS have been hacked in case you haven't heard.
There is a reason that we use paper ballots fed into a machine that records them which is not connected to the internet- even to download software updates.
Want to see a real stolen election? Put all voting online and see which countries' hackers (including our own) can change the election results first.
I’m curious what makes it unconstitutional. Does the legislature not have the authority to make election regulations?
I don't know the NY State Constitution well enough to have an informed opinion .
This one Judge took issue with the Legislator definition of "illness".
This will probably be stayed upon appeal.
On the other hand, NY allows absentee voters to vote in person which negates their mailed in ballot
so there really isn't any harm done to this election if the Judge somehow prevails.
Seems to me an “illness” is whatever the legislature says it is. Generally speaking, that branch of government is supposed to define legal terms, not the judiciary.
Driving a car isn't mentioned in The Constitution, so ban driving, it's unconstitutional. Eating hot dogs isn't mentioned in The Constitution, so ban hot dogs, they're unconstitutional. Using computers isn't mentioned in The Constitution, so ban computers, they're unconstitutional. etc etc etc etc. Life has to revert to what it was like when The Constitution was written OR ELSE!!! Good Luck, pioneers.