Even year local elections are coming… for some

For all the county, town and village municipal elections happening this year, candidates should be sure to make it count since it’s officially the last time their contests will happen in an odd-numbered year. 

The two-year saga over a law to shift many local elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years came to a close last week when the state Court of Appeals unanimously ruled to uphold the 2023 law. That means that people elected this year in municipal elections outside of  New York City and other cities will be back on the ballot sooner than usual. Those elected to two-year terms in November will serve just one year before going before voters again next year. Those elected to four-year terms will serve for three years before returning to the ballot in 2028.

If you find yourself voting for county executive, county legislator, town supervisor, town council or the like next month, that means this will be the last time candidates for those positions ever run in an odd-numbered year. That includes executive races in counties including Nassau, Westchester, Rockland and Orange. The first two are among the higher-profile races, as Westchester County Executive Ken Jenkins runs for his first full (or at least three-year) term, and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman seeks a strong reelection showing as he weighs a potential run for governor. Most county legislature positions are for two-year terms, so anyone who wins a county legislature election this year will need to run for reelection next year.

Now, you may be asking, “What about all the four-year-term offices that had odd-year elections two years ago?” That’s where things start to get a little trickier. The final off-year elections will take place in 2027, for four-year positions last elected in 2023. Those elected in 2027 will serve three years of their term, with new races in 2030. That means in roughly five years, most municipal races will officially happen in even-numbered years. 

Unfortunately, the transition period is slightly complicated even beyond that because the state has multiple levels of elections and different rules governing them. Prime examples are county district attorney elections. Those generally take place alongside municipal elections in odd-numbered years, but district attorneys are technically state-level positions. That means even after town and county races shift to even-numbered years, district attorney contests will remain in odd-numbered years until further action from state legislators. The same is true for several other county-wide positions that deal with state law, including sheriff, clerk and coroner. 

The law recently upheld by the Court of Appeals also does not impact New York City or other cities in the state. Significant attention has focused on New York City, especially since voters there will decide this year whether to change their charter to enable future even-year elections. But it’s true for every other city as well, from White Plains to Buffalo. Only a state constitutional amendment can enable city elections to move from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years. Changing when county-wide state positions like district attorney are elected would require a change to the state constitution as well. 

State lawmakers have already introduced a resolution to change the state constitution, but that process takes time. If they pass the resolution next year, they will still need to pass it a second time in 2027, making that the earliest it could go before voters. But as the change is meant to take advantage of the higher voter turnout in even-numbered years, officials would likely wait until 2028 to put the measure before voters, coinciding with a presidential election. 

If voters approve of the amendment, legislators would still need to change state law once the constitutional changes take effect. Once all that has taken place, next comes the process of actually making the shift. For county and town elections impacted by the new Court of Appeals ruling, the time between the change in law to full implementation will clock in at seven years. All told, shifting all of the remaining elections in the state to even-numbered years could still take another decade or more.