Judge Strikes Abortion Referendum From November Ballot

On Tuesday, county Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle sided with plaintiff Assemblymember Marjorie Byrnes, a Republican from western New York, declaring the amendment “null and void” and ordering its removal from the ballot.

The issue centers on the timing of a review by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The state constitution says that when the legislature introduces a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment, the proposal should go to the attorney general, who will “render an opinion in writing” on how it would affect other provisions of the constitution. Lawmakers can only vote on the bill after they receive that opinion, according to Doyle’s interpretation.

In this case, James did issue an opinion greenlighting the proposal — but it came five days after the legislature passed the amendment.

The ruling is “an important check on the legislature,” said Christian Browne, an attorney for the plaintiffs.

“This isn’t the express line. You have to introduce the amendment, wait for the opinion to come down,” he said. “The constitution is supreme, not the legislature. The legislature has to follow the rules. If they follow the rules, they can pass whatever they’d like.”

The chair of the state’s Republican Party, Ed Cox, congratulated Byrnes — and slammed Hochul and the Democrats.

“In their rush to pass this amendment, the legislature never held a single hearing on the proposal, never consulted with outside constitutional experts, and falsely asserted this amendment was necessary to protect abortion rights in the state,” he said in a statement Tuesday.

Hochul condemned the ruling. “Our decades-long fight to protect equality and reproductive freedom will not be thrown off track by one extremist judge and I look forward to casting my ballot for the Equal Rights Amendment in November,” she said in a statement.

Pro-amendment advocates decried the ruling as unfair, especially since constitutional amendments in past instances have appeared on the ballot without the attorney general issuing an opinion before the first legislative vote. Those include a 1996 amendment to increase monetary jurisdiction of certain New York courts and a 2022 amendment easing a voter registration requirement.

“More than a dozen constitutional amendments have proceeded in this exact manner in the last 50 years — and all made it on the ballot,” said Andrew Taverrite of New Yorkers for Equal Rights, a coalition that has backed the amendment. “This ruling is nothing but a baseless attack by the anti-abortion minority, and we are confident it will be overturned on appeal.”

Browne said that he expects the defendants to appeal the decision and request an expedited timeline to receive the new decision before voters head to the polls.