About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

2018 NY Att'y Gen. Rep. & Op. 1 (2018)

handle is hein.nyattgen/nysag000139 and id is 1 raw text is: New York Constitution Article 2, § 7, Article 9, § 2(c)(i), Article 9, § 2(c)(ii)(1); Municipal Home Rule Law §§ 10(1)(i), 10(1)(ii)(a)(1), 23(2)(e); Election Law §§ 1-102, 9-112, 9-112(1), 15-100, 15-104, 15-104(1)(d), 15-126(2)(a) A village can adopt a local law implementing a cumulative voting system and such local law would be subject to mandatory referendum. January 24, 2018 Anthony M. Cerreto Informal Opinion Village Attorney No. 2018-1 Village of Port Chester 222 Grace Church Street Port Chester, New York 10573 Dear Mr. Cerreto: You have requested an opinion regarding whether the Village is authorized to adopt a local law that would establish a system of cumulative voting to elect village trustees, and, if so, whether that local law would be subject to referendum. Under a cumulative voting system, each voter is entitled to cast as many votes as there are open seats-in the Village's proposal, six votes because the Village is governed by a board of six trustees elected at large (and a mayor)-but is not limited to casting a single vote for a candidate. A voter could cast a single vote for each of six candidates, or cast all six votes for one candidate, or allocate the six votes among candidates in some other way. You have explained that the Village was using cumulative voting by court order, which has since terminated, and would like to continue using cumulative voting or another fair representation voting system instead of returning to the single-vote-per-candidate system for its at-large trustee elections that the Village's Charter provides for. As explained below, we are of the opinion that the Village can adopt a local law implementing a cumulative voting system and that such local law would be subject to mandatory referendum. The Village is authorized to adopt a local law relating to its government and to the mode of selection of its officers, as long as that local law is consistent with the state Constitution and general state statutes. N.Y. Const. Art. 9, § 2(c)(i),(ii)(1); Municipal Home Rule Law § 10(1)(i),(ii)(a)(1). And the Court of Appeals has determined that the term mode of selection is not limited to whether an officer is elected or appointed but also means that a municipality may define the precise method by which either an election or appointment shall be effected. Bareham v. City of Rochester, 246 N.Y. 140, 146 (1927). We therefore believe that the Village's proposed local law falls in the first instance within its home rule authority.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most