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From Fox News: A new requirement in New York that will take effect this weekend is set to grant Democrat New York Attorney General Letitia James widespread power over the state’s election process, a New York election attorney said.
“Nobody is really talking about it or what a big effect it’s going to have,” election attorney Joseph T. Burns, partner at the law firm Holtzman Vogel, told Fox News Digital in a phone interview this week. “But it’s interesting because, look, there’s a lot of bad stuff that happens in New York when it comes to the elections and everything else, but this strikes me as being particularly bad. And it’s certainly quite a power grab by the attorney general as well.”
Under the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, which Gov. Kathy Hochul signed into law in 2022, a preclearance requirement in the law is set to take effect on Sept. 22. The new rule requires certain jurisdictions in the Empire State to request preclearance from the attorney general or a designated court to make election-related decisions, which range from changing the hours of early voting to culling deceased residents from a voter list, Burns said.
Burns published an op-ed in the New York Post this week, warning that the new law hands James “unprecedented power over election processes in some of the most hotly contested congressional districts in the nation, including those on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.” The upcoming requirement has flown under the radar, Burns said, telling Fox Digital, “Nobody’s talking about. It’s pretty remarkable.”
Burns warned in his op-ed, published on Sunday, “The new rule upends the system of constitutionally mandated, bipartisan election administration that has served New York’s voters ably for generations. And it will give AG Letitia James unprecedented power over election processes in some of the most hotly contested congressional districts in the nation, including those on Long Island and in the Hudson Valley.”
Here’s one key excerpt: Jurisdictions can fall under the new rule’s shadow for multiple reasons — including arrest rates for citizens in “protected classes.”
“More troubling, the law includes a provision that allows the AG to expand the list of local election board functions that will require pre-clearance,” Burns warned.
Burns noted that the “preclearance” rule was touted as a means to” protect the civil and voting rights of New York’s minority voters.”
“In reality, it’s a massive power grab by the AG — and a sly attempt to subvert the state Constitution’s guarantee of bipartisan control of election boards,” he wrote.
Burns explains that elections in New York currently run smoothly, because they are led by bipartisan boards that give each of the two major parties equal representation, even in jurisdictions heavily dominated by one party or the other, like New York City.
Now, that is all about to change, as radical Democrat Letitia James will “have veto power over some of the most basic and noncontroversial decisions and functions of a local Board of Elections.”
And it’s all set to take effect on September 22 – just six weeks ahead of the November election.
Lest James’s political bias is in question, consider this: still pinned to the top of her X/Twitter page is a post from February 16.
In the post, James gloated, “In a massive victory, we won our case against Donald Trump for engaging in years of incredible financial fraud to enrich himself. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and his former executives must pay over $450 million in disgorgement and interest.”
In a massive victory, we won our case against Donald Trump for engaging in years of incredible financial fraud to enrich himself.
Trump, Donald Trump, Jr., Eric Trump, and his former executives must pay over $450 million in disgorgement and interest.
— NY AG James (@NewYorkStateAG) February 16, 2024
And on her personal X/Twitter page, James confirmed just last week that she wants Kamala Harris to win the presidency.
What kind of America do you want to live in?
I want to live in an America with freedom and opportunity.
I want to live in an America filled with compassion, not chaos.
I want to live in an America led by @KamalaHarris.
— Tish James (@TishJames) September 11, 2024
Trump’s top legal foe to be handed ‘unprecedented’ election power ahead of November: election attorney https://t.co/TXcTBgN5WL
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 20, 2024
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