Last week the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the New York State Board of Elections' rule barring the use of absentee ballots in party county committee races. Under the law, absentee ballots were permissible in all other races, and were not allowed in party county committee races because they allegedly take too long to count. The decision calls the Board's rationale "flimsy," especially in light of the fact that local boards of election have up to nine days to complete their canvass and certify results. The court deemed the Board's argument so "exceptionally and extraordinarily weak" that it could not justify even an admittedly minor burden on First Amendment rights.
A small victory, perhaps, but it's nice to see folks take notice of the Board of Elections' often baffling logic.
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