Lawmakers in the Dem-majority New York state Assembly are hammering out a bill that could give Governor Kathy Hochul more time to set dates for special elections, Gothamist reports on a move that would have the immediate consequence of cramping Jesus Dork House Speaker Mike Johnson’s already tiny majority by dragging out the vacancy in the state’s 21st District left by shrill monster Congresswoman Elise Stefanik’s pending departure for the United Nations ambassadorship.
Under the current law, the governor must proclaim a special election within 10 days of a vacancy and the special must be held within 70 to 80 days after the proclamation. Stefanik advanced out of the Senate Foreign Relations committee on Thursday, so assuming the final confirmation vote is this week it’d be early May when the R+9 district would send a different far right asshole to Congress. As soon as Monday however, that could change as New York Dems are looking at pushing it to at the earliest June or even November under a patina of making it more cost efficient.
A Hochul spokesperson told Gothamist the gov “believes it’s critical to increase voter turnout and reduce the cost of election administration and she would support legislation that achieves that goal.”
Florida Gov Ron DeSantis meanwhile set the special elections to replace National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and non-Attorney General Matt Gaetz for April 1st. When Dem Congressman Alcee Hastings died on April 6, 2021 DeSantis set the special in the D+25 district for January 18, 2022.