Judge dismisses Suffolk County challenge to New York election law

A federal judge has thrown Suffolk County and Huntington Town out of the lawsuit attacking New York’s Even Year Election Law, narrowing the fight over whether Riverhead can keep its new 2026 election schedule. The ruling leaves Riverhead on course to elect a supervisor this November for a two-year term that locks the town into even-numbered election years.

U.S. District Judge Gary R. Brown dismissed the governmental plaintiffs with prejudice and also dismissed claims against the State of New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul and the New York State Board of Elections. Brown found that the municipal plaintiffs could not press the federal constitutional claims because earlier state-court litigation barred them, they lacked standing and they had no cause of action under the federal civil rights statute used in the case. He also denied the preliminary-injunction request as moot. Brown heard arguments in Central Islip on June 18 before issuing the June 29 decision.

The remaining non-governmental plaintiffs, including Republican committees, were given leave to try again with a second amended complaint against different defendants.

The law signed by Hochul on Dec. 22, 2023 took effect Jan. 1, 2025, and for offices with two-year terms, 2025 served as a one-year transition term before regular two-year terms begin in 2026. That means the town supervisor race now expected this November would be the first full two-year contest under the new system. The law primarily affects town offices such as supervisor, town board member, town clerk and highway superintendent, along with certain county offices.

RiverheadLOCAL put local governments’ legal fees and expenses tied to the case at more than $1.6 million, including at least $207,958.79 paid by Riverhead through Dec. 31, 2025 and at least $230,000 by Suffolk County. Suffolk County Legislator Greg Doroski introduced legislation on June 25 to require the county to withdraw from the lawsuit, arguing taxpayers should not keep funding a case that already failed in state court. The New York Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the election law on Oct. 16, 2025, and the U.S. Supreme Court later declined to review that ruling.