Voters in Westchester County will be asked on their ballot whether they should increase the term of office for county lawmakers from two to four years, while keeping that office at a 12-year limit.
The county’s 17-member Council of Legislators voted unanimously to place that referendum on the ballot, saying longer terms would reduce election costs, reduce the amount of time lawmakers spend on campaigns and give them more time in one term to develop expertise and follow plans. to blossom.
The short question is based on voters’ ballots, along with a statewide proposal to add abortion and LGBTQ rights to the New York Constitution — the Equal Rights Amendment — and local proposals in three municipalities in Westchester. Voting by mail for the Nov. 5 election began last month, and in-person voting begins on Saturday.
If approved by voters, the longer terms for the provincial legislature would begin in next year’s elections for all 17 seats — with one element of legal uncertainty affecting the term.
When would the new conditions come into effect?
New York passed a law last year to move certain local elections — those for county executive seats, county legislatures and city council seats — to even years instead of odd years. It was promoted as a way to increase voter participation in those races by putting them on the same ballot as higher-turnout contests for president, Congress, governor and state legislatures.
That transition would begin in 2025 with shortened terms, meaning the first extended term for the Westchester legislature would effectively be reduced to three years before next year’s elections. (The full four-year term would begin in the 2028 election.)
But several counties sued to block the law as unconstitutional and won a court ruling in Onondaga County in October, halting the transition to even-year elections unless appeals courts overturn the ruling. Opponents have argued that local elections in even years would be drowned out by national politics and should be held separately.
Westchester has limited legislators to a maximum of 12 consecutive years — six two-year terms — since 2011. The proposed charter amendment before voters would retain the 12-year limit while increasing the length of each term to four years.
The current board consists of fifteen Democrats, one Republican and one Conservative. The base salary for a lawmaker is $75,000.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and the USA Today Network. Reach him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Voters in Westchester NY asked to set lawmakers’ term limits
