Doroski seeks Suffolk exit from costly even-year election lawsuit

Greg Doroski moved on June 25 to pull Suffolk County out of the federal lawsuit challenging New York’s Even-Year Election Law, arguing the county should stop paying into a case that has already generated more than $1.65 million in legal fees for local governments. The resolution would require Suffolk to withdraw from the lawsuit and would end the county’s last formal role in the fight over when local elections are held.

The case was filed on October 30, 2025, in the Eastern District of New York by the New York State Republican Committee and a group of county, town and other local plaintiffs. Riverhead Town and seven other government plaintiffs had withdrawn by June 10, leaving Suffolk County and Huntington Town as the only government plaintiffs still pressing the challenge.

New York’s highest court upheld the Even-Year Election Law in October 2025, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the challenge in March 2026, leaving the law in place. New York filed a motion to dismiss the federal case on June 10, and a hearing was scheduled for June 18.

Suffolk has already changed its own election rules to match the new schedule. The Legislature adopted the Term Limit Preservation Act in 2025, a charter change introduced on June 24, 2025, to revise the term-limit law and move county legislators from two-year terms to four-year terms. The change aimed to avoid taxpayer-funded special elections and prevent three elections in four years. Suffolk voters later approved Proposition 2, making the four-year terms part of county government.