March 13, 2026

• Redistricting saga continues
• One house budgets released!
• Events you won’t want to miss

Will Redistricting Ever End?

Potentially. But I’d bet 5 dollars we’ll be talking about redistricting until the next official cycle in 2030.

The U.S. Supreme Court has temporarily blocked a lower court ruling that would have required New York to redraw the 11th Congressional District, which includes Staten Island and part of Brooklyn. A state trial judge had found that the current district boundaries dilute the voting power of Black and Latino residents in violation of the state constitution, a decision that could have shifted the Republican-held seat toward Democrats.

Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and the GOP co-chair of the State Board of Elections appealed, arguing that the proposed redraw amounted to unconstitutional racial gerrymandering.

While New York officials and voter advocates said the dispute should be resolved in state courts first, the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay that will remain in place as the case moves through the state appeals process, and potentially longer if the Court ultimately agrees to hear it.

The unsigned order drew dissent from three justices, who warned that intervening before a final state court ruling could invite more federal involvement in ongoing election disputes nationwide, particularly as states prepare for the 2026 election cycle. Read more here and here.

One House Budgets Released!

This week we saw the Senate and the Assembly release their one-house budgets. What exactly is a one-house budget? Essentially, it builds off of the Governors Executive budget and includes everything the Senate and the Assembly would want to see in the final State budget. Here is what’s been included in each:

Senate One House includes:

• Adds $10 million total in additional operating support for local BOEs.
• Adds $10 million total to expand civic education.
• Adds $30 million total for the New York State Office of the Census.
• Adds $1 million total and New PPGG Part HH to create an Election Security Navigator Program to assist local boards of elections with cybersecurity (S.8615).
• Adds $175,000 total to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC).
• Accepts $2.5 million for Dr. John L. Flateau NY Voting and Elections Database, and restores $250,000 for related research and analysis at Medgar Evers College.
• Intentionally omits PPGG Part S to expand and operationalize rules governing “materially deceptive media” in political communications. The Senate supports further discussions on how best to protect elections from misleading or deceptive AI content.

Assembly One House includes:

• The Assembly provides $6 million for local Boards of Elections for operating costs associated with the general election to be held in November of 2026, including up to $1 million for polling sites at SUNY campuses, including early voting. 
• The Assembly provides $20 million for census planning.
• The Assembly provides $500,000 for the cost of implementing a program to expand voting opportunities to eligible people in detention. 
• Removes Part S and R, which addresses voter obstruction and deceptive AI content.

What do we think?

• We would have loved to see $35M in funding for local Boards of Elections, but are glad to see some direct funding in both the Senate and Assembly budgets
• We are thrilled to see $500k in the Assembly budget for jail based voting and the Democracy During Detention Act! Check out Carla Michalak’s (LWV of Broome Tioga) op-ed about the bill here.
• Article VII: The exclusion of PPGG Part S, Part R, and the Bivens Act is okay. There are stronger proposals already in the legislature related to civil rights protection, AI deception and voter obstruction.
• We were happy to see funding in both the Senate and Assembly for Census Planning
• Glad to see funding for ERIC, the John R. Flateau Database, expansion of civic education, and funding for the creation of Election Security Navigator Program in the Senate’s one-house
• We would have liked to see direct funding for climate change education and funding for the Bigger Better Bottle Bill.

More thoughts to come as we continue to read through the budgets for specific changes to healthcare and education! Don’t wait for us though- check out this overview from NY Focus.

We didn’t spend the WHOLE week at the Capitol

Earlier this week, the League of Women Voters of the Mid-Hudson Region joined Ulster County officials for the opening of Women Shaping Democracy in Ulster County, now on display for the month at the Nina Postupack Gallery in the Ulster County Office Building in Kingston. The exhibit—organized by the Ulster County Clerk’s Office—features historical voter registration books, materials from the women’s suffrage movement, and records preserved through League donations documenting decades of civic engagement in the region. Campaign Director, Clyanna Lightbourn, joined the Mid-Hudson League for this event.

Regional Trainings 2026: Join us for a regional training near you as we prepare for the 2026 election. We will discuss several topics to improve our impact and our reach in the communities we serve. Coffee will be served at 9:30 and the trainings will begin at 10am (15 minutes earlier for Rochester) and lunch will be included.

• Saratoga Springs Regional Training- March 21, 2026 (9:30am – 3:30pm)
• Rochester Regional Training- April 11, 2026 (9:15am – 3:15pm)

Featuring:

• Carol Faulkner, Professor of History, Syracuse University
• Lauren Kozakiewicz, Lecturer in History at the University of Albany, and author of Ladies’ Day at the Capitol: New York’s Women Legislators, 1919-1992.

Weekly Session Calendar

We are still waiting on the committee meetings for next week in the Assembly. Check out the updated Senate committee calendar here and the Assembly committee calendar here. Joint budget sub-committees will be held all week!

• Monday, March 16th- Senate in session at 3:00pm, Assembly in session at 11am.
• Tuesday, March 17th- Senate in session at 3:00pm, Assembly session start time has not yet been posted.
• Wednesday, March 18th- Senate in session at 3:00pm , Assembly session start time has not yet been posted.
• Thursday, March 19th-  Senate in session at 11:00am , Assembly session start time has not yet been posted.