A voting rights law meant to protect minority groups was ruled “unconstitutional” by a state judge last week in Newburgh, N.Y., about 60 miles outside the city.
The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York, aka New York’s Voting Rights Act of 2022 (NYVRA), was sponsored by Senator Zellnor Myrie and signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul two years ago. The law has safeguards for any member of a “protected class to vote” and provides preclearance, or demands preapproval, for certain voting policies.
“When New York enacted the strongest voting rights law in the country, we knew there would be challenges,” said Myrie in a statement. “I disagree with the court’s legal reasoning and expect this decision will be overturned on appeal.”
A group of six Black and Hispanic Newburgh voters filed a lawsuit in March against the town electoral board, one of at least four lawsuits filed under the state’s voting rights act. They claimed that the “at-large elections” process to pick board members in the majority-white town had kept Black and Hispanic residents from electing their candidates of choice, reported the Associated Press (AP). They asked the court to institute a more equitable “by district” voting process.
On Nov. 8, Judge Maria Vazquez-Doles struck down the suit and the NYVRA law as “based on race and ethnicity” and therefore “unconstitutional,” according to the AP. The U.S. Supreme Court similarly cited the equal protection clause in its ruling last year that struck down affirmative action programs at colleges and universities as unconstitutional.
In Vazquez-Doles’s opinion, she said the wording of the state law didn’t require voters to show evidence of past discrimination and that there weren’t clear guidelines on how much a group’s voting power has to be diluted before its rights are violated, said AP.
Michael Pernick, political participation counsel for the Legal Defense Fund (LDF), said the Newburgh case is an example of precisely why the voting rights act was created in the first place.
“The bill defines protected classes as race, color, and language minority groups. It’s consistent with the federal voting rights act,” said Pernick. “Here’s what’s important: The statute is what is called race-neutral. It doesn’t specifically say Black voters, or Latino voters, or White voters. Any members of a group that’s facing discrimination can use these protections.”
Pernick said point-blank that Vazquez-Doles’s legal opinion uses the “wrong legal framework” and incorrectly characterizes the state law.
“The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of New York delivered the most comprehensive set of voter protections of any state in America,” said Assemblywoman Latrice Walker, the State Assembly sponsor of the bill. “I am confident that the judge’s decision will be overturned on appeal. I believe wholeheartedly that the right to vote is the very cornerstone of our democracy. We must not only exercise that right, but we also must do everything in our power to protect it.”
On Nov. 11, the plaintiffs appealed the judge’s decision in support of the NYVRA.
“Governor Hochul was proud to sign the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act into law in 2022, strengthening voting rights and celebrating the legacy of her late colleague Congressman John Lewis,” said a spokesperson for Hochul.