(The Center Square) — An upstate New York town has agreed to upend its election system to settle a lawsuit alleging its at-large system of electing council members diluted the voting power of minorities.
A state Supreme Court judge on Thursday signed off on an agreement between the Town of Newburgh and a group of voters who allege the town’s election system disenfranchises Black and Hispanic residents that will require it to adopt a ranked choice voting system to elect its governing board. The consent decree also requires the town to pay the six defendants collectively $1.6 million,
“Without conceding a violation of the New York Voting Rights Act and while denying all of plaintiffs’ allegations, defendants agree to adopt a ranked choice voting electoral system to resolve this litigation,” the decree states. “The parties, through counsel, have conferred extensively and agree that it is in the best interest of all parties that these actions be resolved without the expense of further litigation.”
Last year, a group of advocates sued Newburgh, alleging that the town’s use of an at-large method for electing the members of the Town Board violated the Voting Rights Act law “by diluting the votes of Hispanic and African-American voters.”
The lawsuit noted that the town has never elected an African American or Hispanic candidate to the council, despite the fact that they represent 14.6% and 23.6% of its population, respectively.
The 2022 New York Voting Rights Act mandates that counties, cities, towns or school districts with a record of discrimination in New York must seek approval from state election officials before approving major changes to local voting laws that could impact Blacks, Hispanics and other racial minorities.
An Orange County Supreme Court judge initially ruled in the town’s favor, declaring that the NYVRA was “unconstitutional” because it required differential treatment based on race.
Town officials challenged the vote-dilution provisions in the 2022 law meant to protect the electoral power of minority voters, but a state Supreme Court judge rejected the lawsuit, a decision that was later upheld by the state Court of Appeals.
Earlier this week, the Newburgh council voted to accept the consent decree with the six defendants and begin the process of developing a ranked choice voting system for the next election.
Unlike the winner-take-all voting system, ranked choice requires voters to list candidates in order of preference. The system comes into play in crowded races when no candidate gets 50% of the votes. When that happens, the candidate who got the least votes is eliminated, and their votes are reallocated and re-tabulated until someone wins a majority.
Supporters of the voting system, which is used in Maine and several other states, say it ensures that winning candidates have broad support and gives voters the option of multiple choices. Critics say ranked choice voting is too confusing and unconstitutional. They argue that the winner-take-all system is the best way to elect state and local leaders and avoid political shenanigans.
