Report: New York City can save $42M by merging local elections

(The Center Square) — New York City could save taxpayers tens of millions of dollars by moving local elections to even-numbered years to align with federal and state elections, according to a new report.

New York’s Independent Budget Office report found that the city could save up to $42 million by making the switch. It concluded that the costs to run elections on even years won’t significantly change “as the infrastructure for conducting elections would already be in place and paid for in these years.”

Overall, the election-related costs for the previous five odd-year local elections range from $15 million in 2016 up to $63 million in 2022, averaging $42 million, according to the report’s authors.

“Even if IBO excludes 2016, for which there was only one primary election compared with two in most other years, the average for the other four years is $48 million,” they wrote.

Voting rights groups, which have pushed for the changes for years, said the data shows that switching local elections to even-numbered years would save money and boost voter turnout.

“The findings from the Independent Budget Office further validate what we at Citizens Union have championed: moving our municipal elections to even-numbered years in New York City is not only a democratic imperative but also a smart fiscal decision,” Betsy Gotbaum, executive director of Citizens Union, said in a statement. “The potential savings of $42 million every other year are significant, but the true value lies in the increased voter turnout and more representative electorate that such a move would foster.”

Data from Citizens Union shows that voter turnout in local elections last year ranged from a low of 13% in a New York City Council race in the Bronx to 33% for a mayoral race in the upstate city of Troy. Meanwhile, the 2022 gubernatorial race saw a turnout of nearly 60% in Albany, Monroe and Onondaga counties.

Presidential election cycles generally result in an 18% increase in voter turnout, according to the Pew Research Center. Governor’s races net the second-highest participation from voters, Pew said in a recent report.

“New York City’s current election schedule is a relic of a bygone era that does not serve the needs of our diverse and dynamic city,” Gotbaum said. “It’s time we align our local elections with those that already draw higher voter engagement.”

In 2023, Gov. Kathy Hochul signed a bill that requires some county and town elections to move to even-numbered years, aligning them with the state and federal election cycle. She said the move will expand access to the ballot box and promote “a more inclusive democracy.”

The change didn’t apply to county races for clerks, sheriffs, district attorneys, as well as city and village elections, which are required by the state Constitution to be held in odd-numbered years, but Hochul has expressed her support for a proposed constitutional amendment that would align elections for all offices.

That prompted a sharp rebuke from Republican county leaders, who argued that it would result in municipal and county races being overshadowed by state and federal elections.

“At a time when we should be keeping the divisiveness at the federal and state levels out of our local communities, this bill does the opposite, burying the local issues that impact New Yorkers’ daily lives at the back of exceedingly long ballots,” Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties, said in a recent statement.

By Christian Wade | The Center Square contributor