New Paltz Village Board considers moving village elections from May to November

The Village of New Paltz is considering moving the date of village elections for the first time in a generation. This time comes with a request to have them taken over by the county government.

Mayor Tim Rogers laid out details of the rationale and process at the December 16 village board meeting. Moving village elections from their May date to the national election day in November would increase participation, the mayor believes. Having them run at the county level would take the costs of holding them off the backs of village taxpayers.

The last time the village election date changed was in 2001, when voters agreed to move it from March to May. The argument was that warmer weather would make it easier to collect signatures foe petitions to get on the ballot and improve turnout. Trustees at the time initially were looking for a June date, but an outcry over disenfranchisement from college students led to a May election instead. Student turnout in 2003 contributed to the upset victory of Jason West over four-term incumbent Tom Nyquist that year.

Changing the village voting date would require a referendum this coming May. The county takeover would require a permissive referendum that wouldn’t require a vote unless enough signatures were gathered on petitions demanding that the voters have their say on that question, too.

Selecting a date for elections is one of the qualities that separates villages from towns. Village elections can also be non-partisan, as they are in New Paltz. However, if the New Paltz village elections are taken over by county officials, that non-partisan tradition will end, because county-run elections are partisan by definition. A number of trustees in recent years have not been members of major political parties, including the aforementioned West as well as the well-regarded Sally Rhoads, Registered Republicans such as Stewart Glenn have been elected to the village board in a community where registrations skew heavily toward the Democrats. Candidates in partisan elections participate in caucuses or primaries.

The village attorney is reviewing proposed language for the permissive referendum to request a county takeover, as well as the referendum asking voters to move the date. Voters would have their say in May.