Laws are constantly being revised or changes, but for good or ill, they are usually changed because the proponents of the bill to change the law believe that it is better and ought to serves as a general rule. In the state of New York, there is companion pair of bills to allow the Governor to postpone a special election for a currently expected vacancy in the House of Representatives to a general election.
“State law currently requires the governor to proclaim a special election within 10 days after an office becomes vacant. Among other changes, the bill under consideration would increase that to 15 days, the officials said.
“Under current law, the special election must then occur between 70 to 80 days after the governor’s proclamation for a seat in Congress and between 40 and 50 days for a seat in the state Senate or Assembly, unless the lawmaker was in the final months of their term.”
Specifically, it allows a special election date for non-legislative elections to be set:
“not less than seventy nor more than eighty days from the date of the proclamation to fill a vacancy in the office of a representative in congress or for a vacancy in any other office that is not in the state senate or assembly, provided, however, that if there is a vacancy occurring in the same calendar year as a general election date set pursuant to section 8-100 of the election law, a proclamation may be issued so that the special election may be scheduled on the general election date”
But this isn’t a general election year, right?
Section 8-100 references general election dates in New York City, and a vacancy happening now in the House of Representatives would thus can be set to happen in a general election year including a general election year involving in New York City… which is happening this year.
The law, especially election law, can be modified and ought to be modified if it is considered a general improvement, at least subjectively by the proponents of change. To change the law whenever it is useful for your own side to do so, and detrimental to your opponents, is to subvert elections themselves.
This ought to be condemned regardless of who does it.
