Suffolk voters to decide on four-year terms for legislators amid even-year election law shift

A bipartisan effort by Suffolk County lawmakers to expand the terms of county legislators from two years to four will appear on the ballot this November.

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine last week signed into law The Term Limit Preservation Act, which was passed unanimously by the legislature in June. The county act responds to the 2023 state law that will shift local elections to even-numbered years starting in 2026. 

According to the legislation, lengthening legislators’ terms would avoid the need for three elections in four years. Under the new state law, elections for county legislators would otherwise be required this year, in 2026, and again in 2028.

“This important measure ensures that our elected leaders can remain focused on serving the people and tackling the real challenges facing our communities,” Romaine (R) said in a statement.

The act would also prevent legislators from having to resign mid-term if they exceed the county’s 12-year term limit after being elected in an odd-numbered year and re-elected in an even-numbered year. It would likewise eliminate the need for any special elections that might result from such resignations. However, the state’s even-year election law already addresses this by stating that time served as a result of a term won in the 2025 election will not count toward local term limits.

“This law protects the integrity of our government and honors the will of the people,” County Legislature Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R) said in a statement. “We will not allow Albany to undo decades of common-sense reform.”

The act seeks to amending the county charter, which requires voter approval. In 2020, county voters overwhelmingly rejected a referendum to expand legislators’ terms to four years. That proposal was placed on the ballot by the Democratic majority at the time; Republicans, who are now the majority, opposed it.

Legislator Jason Richberg (D), the minority leader, called the legislation a “common sense” measure originally proposed by Democrats.

“I hope by bringing the elections to four years, we’ll bring some clarity, and also give us some time to work on the much needed bills of our communities — and also hopefully remove partisan politics from our government…,” he said during the legislature’s June 24 meeting.

Suffolk County is one of more than a dozen counties and towns across New York State challenging the even-year election law in court. In May, a mid-level appellate court allowed the law to go into effect, overturning a lower court decision against the state. The plaintiffs have since appealed to the State Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. The case is on the Sept. 8 calendar for oral arguments.

The intent of the even-year election law is to increase voter participation in local elections, which are almost always held in odd-numbered years and see significantly lower voter turnout. Proponents of the law argue that aligning local elections with contests for president, Congress, and the state legislature on the ballot will draw more attention — and more voters — to local issues. 

Republican elected officials on Long Island — including those in Suffolk County and Riverhead — argue the law is a politically motivated power grab by the Democratic-controlled state government. They say moving local elections to even years would result in local issues being eclipsed by federal and state issues.