New York Law Journal: Amended Lawsuit Decries NYC Legislators Who Voted for Even Year Election Law
NEW YORK – December 30, 2025 — Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors filed an amended complaint Monday strengthening its constitutional challenge to New York’s Even Year Election Law (“EYEL”).
The amended complaint adds a new statewide plaintiff, the New York State Association of Town Superintendents of Highways, representing more than 1,100 local officials across New York, and adds the New York State Board of Elections as a defendant responsible for administering and enforcing the law.
The filing builds on a lawsuit brought on behalf of the New York Republican State Committee, county Republican committees, and a coalition of counties, towns, local candidates, and voters from Nassau, Suffolk, and Orange Counties in October.
Enacted in December 2023 and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, the EYEL moves most county and town offices outside New York City from historic odd-year election cycles to even-numbered years, coinciding with state and federal contests. Plaintiffs contend the law undermines local control over election timing and reshapes how local elections are conducted.
The amended filing builds on the existing First Amendment and Voting Rights Act claims by incorporating additional factual allegations based on the law’s operation and effects. It also updates the case to reflect the November 2025 elections, in which candidates were elected under shortened, transitional terms and are now required to run again on accelerated timelines.
The amended complaint further highlights disparities in how the law was applied. It alleges that New York City voters were given the opportunity to decide whether to move their local elections to even years through a ballot initiative and rejected the change, while counties and towns outside the city had the even-year election mandate imposed on them by the State Legislature without a public vote.
The filing identifies New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani, who voted against the New York City ballot initiative that would have moved some of its local elections to even years, as a relevant non-party. It also identifies state legislators representing New York City districts who voted to impose even-year elections on all counties and towns outside of the city in 2023, but whose own constituents voted handily to preserve odd-year elections in November of this year.
Plaintiffs allege this contrast underscores the law’s unequal and politically selective design.
“Now that this law has been implemented, its consequences are no longer theoretical,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “Local candidates will be forced to run again on shortened timelines, local elections will be buried under federal races, and voters will be deprived of meaningful choice. Fortunately, the Constitution does not permit government officials to implement a system designed to silence local democracy.”
He added, “This case is about defending the right of communities to govern themselves — to debate local issues, elect local leaders, and be heard without being drowned out by national politics. That is what the First Amendment protects, and that is what this lawsuit seeks to restore.”
Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to block enforcement of the law and restore local control over election timing.
Contact:
Ali Dukakis
Director of Communications
Office: 212-527-2580
ajd@brewerattorneys.com
Read more here.
Brewer Welcomes NYC Mayoral Frontrunner Mamdani’s Principled Vote Against Even-Year Election Ballot Proposition
William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel in the recently filed federal challenge to New York’s Even-Year Election Law (EYEL), issued the following statement on New York City mayoral frontrunner Zohran Mamdani's choice to vote against the ballot initiative that could move many local elections in New York City to even years, aligning them with statewide and federal contests—a system set to take effect throughout New York State next year.
“Assemblymember Mamdani likely understands what so many local officials know: moving local elections to even years will drown democracy at the local level. Combining city elections with high-profile state and federal races would overwhelm community voices and bury local representation beneath the noise of national politics."
Brewer added, "Keeping local elections in odd-numbered years protects grassroots leadership and ensures that community issues—like housing, schools, and transit—remain at the center of civic debate. When people are focused on what’s right - not who’s right - uncommon allies can align."
Read Mamdani's comment here: Gothamist: Mamdani says he’s voting for housing ballot proposals, against even-year election measure
Bloomberg Law: Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors Files Landmark Challenge to Defend Local Democracy in New York
NEW YORK – October 30, 2025 — Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors filed a lawsuit today challenging the constitutionality of New York’s Even Year Election Law (“EYEL”), a 2023 statute that forces many local elections to coincide with federal and statewide contests beginning in 2025.
The case is brought on behalf of the New York Republican State Committee, along with the Nassau County Republican Committee, the Suffolk County Republican Committee, and a coalition of counties, towns, and elected officials from Nassau, Suffolk, and Orange Counties.
The law, enacted in December 2023 and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul, mandates that nearly all county and town offices move from their historic odd-year elections to even-year ballots crowded with federal and statewide contests.
The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York (Central Islip Division), argues that the EYEL violates the First Amendment and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by suppressing local political speech, increasing racial polarization, and undermining the independence of self-government.
Plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief to block enforcement of the EYEL before it takes effect in the 2026 election cycle.
“The Even-Year Election Law is unconstitutional and undemocratic,” said William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and lead counsel for the plaintiffs. “It is an attempt to drown local voices, burden political speech, and erode the connection between voters and their local governments.”
He added, “This case is about preserving the opportunity for local candidates to address local issues without being overpowered by the national noise machines. The First Amendment protects the right to speak, to serve, and to be heard in every town, in every county, and in every corner of this state.”
Contact:
Ali Dukakis, Director of Communications
Office: 212-527-2580
Cell: 202-440-1198
Read more here.
Politico Reports on Potential Lawsuit by New York State Republicans
August 6, 2025 — Politico reports today that New York State Republicans are planning a federal lawsuit in opposition to New York’s new law moving elections to even years.
The controversial 2023 law rescheduled town and county races. According to Politico, the future lawsuit was previewed in an amicus brief filed by the Brewer law firm on behalf of Riverhead and Nassau County Legislator Mazi Pilip. The brief was filed as the State Court of Appeals prepares to hear oral arguments in a series of existing state-level cases.
“The First Amendment doesn’t stop at the steps of the state capital [sic],” said William A. Brewer III, the counsel representing Riverhead and Pilip. “Our clients contend that in their communities, democracy will be drowned out – not by censorship, but by unnecessary burdens to local speech.”
Read more here: https://www.politico.com/newsletters/new-york-playbook-pm/2025/08/05/blue-state-republicans-respond-to-redistricting-00494408
William Brewer Writes Op-Ed for Dallas Morning News About Keller ISD Voting Rights Case
William Brewer writes in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News about how the recent failed proposal to split Keller ISD highlights the failures of the at-large election system used to elect the school board — and the need for a new election system.
Brewer, with Kent Bhupathi contributing, writes that "Ultimately, at-large voting systems compound inequities in racially diverse communities. Imagine a board that nominally represents everyone but that in practice panders to the preferences of one dominant group. That is what happened in Keller ISD, with the all-white board effectively insulating wealthier communities (where most trustees live) from the financial responsibilities of supporting lower-income students and diverse cultural backgrounds."
Brewer Storefront, the firm's community service legal affiliate, recently filed a Voting Rights Act lawsuit on behalf of plaintiff Claudio Vallejo challenging the at large system. Brewer writes, "The case seeks to implement a cumulative voting system and move to on-cycle elections, reforms that have the potential to break the hold of entrenched majorities and open the door to a more diverse, representative school board."
Read more here.
Brewer Star-Telegram Op-Ed Urges Keller ISD to Abandon At-Large Voting
February 6, 2025 — Brewer Storefront Chairman William Brewer writes in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that at-large election systems disadvantage minority voters. He points to the use of at-large voting to elect school board trustees in the Keller Independent School District as one example of how at large voting systems fail voters.
"The controversy surrounding a proposal to break up the Keller Independent School District raises fresh concerns about a voting system widely recognized as discriminatory: at-large voting," Brewer writes in the opening of the opinion piece.
Brewer writes that if the more racially diverse west side of the school district was better represented on the school board, a discussion about splitting the school district would not be happening as it currently is.
He suggests that cumulative voting and single-member districts offer a remedy to violations of the Voting Rights Act, for Keller ISD and other school boards.
"Even casual observers know that at-large voting schemes — in which officials are elected across an entity rather than to represent specific districts — typically result in power being consolidated in the 'majority' of voters to the exclusion of even sizable minorities in communities," Brewer writes.
He suggests that cumulative voting offers a more equitable solution and writes that "if a school board election is for three seats, a voter could cast all three votes for a single candidate. This enables smaller but cohesive voting blocs to secure representation, ensuring their voices are heard in decision-making."
Brewer concludes that, "[Keller ISD] Trustees should shelve their plans to dismantle the district and adopt a voting system that enables participation of those whose views will better reflect the students the district is failing."
Read the op-ed here.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Reports on Brewer Storefront Letter to Keller ISD Board
January 30, 2025 — The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports that Brewer Storefront sent a letter to Keller Independent School District school board President Charles Randklev and trustees advising that the school district's at-large electoral system and off-cycle election schedule violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
The letter also charted a "path forward" for the school district to avoid a lawsuit. The article noted that the letter outlined Brewer's suggestions for rectifying voter suppression tactics.
The requests included abandoning plans to split the district in half, pursuing a more inclusive voting system for the school district such as a cumulative system, moving elections to November, and fully informing voters in English and Spanish about election dates, candidates and procedures.
Read more here.
Star-Telegram Reports on Keller ISD, Potential Brewer Storefront Legal Challenge
January 24, 2025 – The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports today on emerging legal issues within the Keller Independent School District. The reporting chronicles the work of the Brewer Storefront, the legal community service affiliate of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, and notes the Storefront’s many successful cases under the Voting Rights Act.
As reported, “At issue is the district’s [Keller ISD] at-large places in which voters select candidates from across the district to fill open school board seats. Some experts believe at-large elections unfairly favor majority voting blocs and therefore violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which was established to ensure all registered voters have an equal voice.”
The alternative would be a single-member system in which voters elect representatives from subdistricts within the larger district. Over the past several years, legal challenges based on interpretations of the Voting Rights Act have pushed at least five North Texas school districts to change their electoral systems, says the article.
William Brewer, founding partner of Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors, said several Keller school district residents had reached out to his firm about challenging the election rules. Those inquiries were in response to a recent proposal to split the district in half, using Denton Highway as the dividing line. The plan was met with overwhelming opposition from parents at a Jan. 16 board meeting. The next public hearing is scheduled for Jan. 30.
Brewer’s firm has successfully initiated the move away from at-large voting in the Lewisville, Richardson, Carrollton-Farmers Branch, Irving and Grand Prairie school districts. He said he plans to file the lawsuit within 45 to 60 days.
“The law says in order to force a change, you need to establish preconditions,” Brewer said. “You have to show that voting is polarized — that whites are voting for whites, Hispanics prefer voting for Hispanics and Blacks are voting for Blacks. Then you have to be able to draw districts around subgroups that are contiguous and compact. Those preconditions seem to be present in Keller.”
Read more here.