New York Attorney General Letitia James (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images/File)
"The new rule upends the system of constitutionally mandated, bipartisan election administration that has served New York’s voters ably for generations," Burns wrote in his op-ed, which was published on Sept. 15. "The law requires certain counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts to get the blessing of the AG or a designated court before making election-related or voting-related changes."
The new rule covers massive jurisdictions such as New York City and nine counties on Long Island, including America’s largest township of Hempstead, as well as other areas known as "covered entities" under the requirement.
The jurisdictions are determined by a handful of factors, including arrest rates for residents of "protected classes" and whether a jurisdiction committed civil rights or voting rights violations in the last 25 years, Burns said, citing documents from James’ office last year that detailed the rules.
Burns, who has a background in Republican politics and election legal issues, told Fox Digital there are "four triggers" that label a jurisdiction a "covered entity."
New York Attorney General Letitia James sits in the courtroom during the fraud trial of former President Trump and his children. (Dave Sanders/Pool/Getty Images/File)
"It isn't just bad policy, because it undermines the bipartisan nature of the boards of elections. Which, again, they're not perfect, there's so many inefficiencies. But by and large, in this day and age where people are so concerned about election integrity, what's better than having both sides have a stake in the outcome, both sides wanting to and needing to make sure that elections are run smoothly and fairly? And now you have a partisan elected official stepping in to essentially have a veto power over our boards of elections," Burns said.
Under New York’s Constitution, elections are run by bipartisan boards that equally represent the Republican and Democrat parties.
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"One side watches the other, and both parties have a stake in ensuring that elections run smoothly – even in jurisdictions heavily dominated by one party or the other, like New York City. It’s not a perfect system, and it certainly has its inefficiencies. But it successfully preserves voter confidence," Burns wrote in his op-ed.
"The preclearance rules of the state VRA, however, undermine this constitutionally mandated system of bipartisan election administration," he added.
The New York State Capitol (Thomas A. Ferrara/Newsday RM via Getty Images/File)
Burns said it's possible the new rule, which will go into effect roughly 40 days before the presidential election, could cause some hiccups at the polls this year.
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"It's certainly possible. I mean, what's going to happen if, God forbid, an early voting site or an Election Day poll site … and a pipe breaks and it floods and it's unusable, or there's a fire in the facility and it burns down. They got to move it."
Local commissioners would then choose a new poll site before filing an application with the AG’s office. Burns said he’s not arguing that the AG’s office wouldn’t swiftly approve the application but rather it adds additional layers of paperwork and clearance to run an election.
"New Yorkers of all political parties and persuasions want elections to be run fairly, honestly and efficiently – and the state’s system of bipartisan election administration already serves voters well," Burns wrote in his op-ed.
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"Our elections – and the public’s faith in them – will not be improved by the AG’s meddling."
Fox News Digital reached out to James’ office regarding the upcoming requirement and Burns’ concerns in the op-ed but did not receive a response prior to publication.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trumps-top-legal-foe-handed-unprecedented-election-power-ahead-nov-election-attorney