Voters won earlier this week when a bill was removed that would have delayed holding a special election to fill a vacant seat in the U.S. House of Representatives until November.

The bill was pulled from consideration – a rare move given that it was given a message of necessity that would have allowed the bill to move to a floor vote in the Senate and Assembly immediately rather than going through the normal legislative process.

Whether it was a sudden outbreak of common sense in Albany or the result of back-room arm-twisting between Gov. Kathy Hochul and President Donald Trump – and our money is on the latter – the right decision was made. Voters in the 21st Congressional District deserve to have representation, and making them wait until November to make a national political power play is a disservice.

Having been through this situation a few times here in Chautauqua County – including 2022 when former Rep. Tom Reed resigned his seat – we can say it’s frustrating when you’re voiceless in Congress. Of course, Hochul was more than happy to set a special election in 2022 because Republicans were safely in the minority in the House of Representatives when Reed resigned. It made no difference to Democrats in Albany or Washington, D.C., who filled Reed’s seat because the Corning Republican’s replacement wasn’t going to be deciding any important issues.

That’s not the case in the 21st District this year. Republicans hold a three-seat majority in the House, so removing a Republican makes it easier for Democrats to stall legislation in the House.

Legislative Democrats have spent the past several years pushing election reforms under the guise of making it easier to vote. It’s the very definition of hypocrisy to want to boost voter turnout and then hold a congressional seat hostage for political advantage by refusing to schedule a vote. It’s the epitome of “Do what I say, not what I do.”