AP:
A law moving many town and county elections in New York to even-numbered years to align them with state and federal races was struck down by a state judge, providing a win to Republicans who claimed it was a partisan effort by Democrats to gain an electoral edge.
Sponsors of the bill approved by the Democrat-led state Legislature last year said they wanted to shift elections for town supervisor, county executive and some other local posts from odd-numbered years to reduce confusion and increase voter turnout. Republicans denounced the law as an effort to move local elections to higher-turnout presidential election years, which could favor Democrats.
A number of Republican officials sued the state, leading to the ruling on Tuesday in Syracuse from state Supreme Court Justice Gerard Neri, who said the law violated the state constitution. Neri said, in part, that the law violates the rights of local governments to control their own affairs.
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