Board authorizes county attorney to seek permission to file amicus brief on 'even‑year election' statute conflict

Warrensburg, N.Y. — The Warren County Board of Supervisors on July 16 authorized the county attorney to seek court permission to file an amicus brief in litigation over New York’s recently enacted law that moves many local elections from odd years to even years.

County legal staff told the board that the state statute—referred to at the meeting as the “even‑year election” law—may conflict with a provision of the New York State Constitution governing city elections that requires supervisors elected from a city to be chosen in odd years. The attorney said the conflict could affect Warren County because five county supervisors are elected from the city of Glens Falls; similar issues affect six other counties in New York with the same structural setup.

Eight charter counties have filed lawsuits challenging the statute’s constitutionality; those cases have been consolidated and are scheduled for oral argument before the New York State Court of Appeals in September. Warren County is not a party to those suits but approved a resolution asking the county attorney to file a friend‑of‑the‑court brief to inform the court about the city‑election constitutional issue and to seek the court’s consideration of that conflict in its pending decisions.

The board recorded authorization for the county attorney to proceed with preparing the amicus brief and to coordinate with other similarly situated counties that may join. Officials said if the Court of Appeals declines to address the constitutional conflict in a decision this year the board will revisit next steps after elections.