Court Affirms Attorney General James’ Successful Suit Against Rensselaer County, Orders County to Increase Access to Early Voting Sites in Communities of Color

 

 Court Orders BOE to Find Accessible Sites in Troy by September 3  

 New York Attorney General Letitia James announced that a court ruled in favor of her lawsuit against the Rensselaer County Board of Elections (BOE) and ordered the BOE to select new early voting poll sites, following its failure to provide voters in the county with accessible early voting poll sites, specifically in communities of color. The Appellate Division, Third Department held that the BOE failed to adequately address whether selected early voting sites were accessible by public transportation and that the chosen sites likely did not provide convenient access for many Troy residents. The court ordered the BOE to select sites that would provide Troy voters with  adequate and equitable  access to early voting poll sites by September 3, 2021.  

“Today’s decision is a critical step to ensure fair access to the polls for all eligible New Yorkers,” said Attorney General James. “While places like Georgia and Texas continue to make it harder for communities of color to vote, New York must continue to safeguard the right to vote throughout the state. I will always fight against any attempt to infringe on this most basic democratic right.”  

In May 2021, Attorney General James filed a lawsuit against the Rensselaer County BOE and its commissioners, Jason Schofield and Edward McDonough, for failing to provide voters in Rensselaer County with adequate and equitable access to early voting poll sites, as required by New York’s Early Voting law. The lawsuit alleged that when the BOE and its commissioners selected early voting sites, they ignored criteria that were required by law to take into account when determining poll sites. Despite the availability of potential early voting sites in Troy, the BOE and its commissioners repeatedly refused to select an early voting site that was easily accessible to Troy residents, where the majority of the county’s Black, Hispanic, and lower-income communities reside. The lawsuit followed multiple attempts by the Office of the Attorney General, as well as various advocacy, community, and faith-based organizations in and around Rensselaer County to urge the BOE to select additional or alternative early voting sites, but the BOE has continuously declined to do so.     

In June 2021, a  judge ruled in favor of Attorney General James' request for an injunction against the BOE in this case.