(The Center Square) — New York’s Democratic leaders have pulled back a controversial proposal that would have left former Republican congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s congressional seat empty for months.
President Donald Trump tapped Stefanik to serve as his U.N. ambassador. If the full Senate confirms her appointment, as expected, she will have to resign her seat in Congress to take up the new post.
Under current law, New York’s governor has 10 days to declare a special election to fill a vacant congressional seat and another 90 days to hold the election.
However, a bill filed by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie — both Democrats — would allow congressional special elections to be held during a general election only if the vacancy occurs in the same calendar year as the general election. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 4 this year.
That effort, however, appears to be dead in the water, with several major news outlets reporting that Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, urged legislative leaders to put the bill on hold while she negotiates with the Trump administration over New York York City’s congestion pricing program. Trump has vowed to kill the program, which charges motorists a new $9 toll to enter parts of Manhattan.
Stewart-Cousins, a Yonkers Democrat, touted the proposed changes to the state’s election laws as a cost savings measure, defending the bill as a “common-sense approach that saves taxpayer dollars while maximizing voter turnout.”
However, Republican leaders blasted the proposal and threatened to file a legal challenge if Democrats change state election law, which would delay the congressional race to the summer and leave New Yorkers in the district without a representative for months.
New York’s 21st Congressional District, a largely rural district that includes the Mohawk Valley and much of the Adirondacks, is key for House Republicans, who hold a slim 218-215 majority in the chamber.
New York Republicans welcomed the news that the bill was dead, accusing Democrats of trying to hold up the special election to erode the GOP’s House majority.
“New Yorkers should remember Governor Hochul and Senate Democrats were willing to trample over our democracy just to cling to power,” Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, said in a statement. “They don’t care about fairness, they don’t care about representation, and they certainly don’t care about the voters. Their only concern is protecting their political power, rigging the system, and stopping President Trump’s Agenda that puts working class families first.”
Government watchdogs like Reinvent Albany also criticized the Democrats’ plan, issuing a statement saying the bill would result in 767,000 people in the district “having no congressional representation” for months and “erodes democratic norms that are already being dismantled and diminished nationally.”