After months of delays in the struggle over New York City’s new non-citizen voting law, the Board of Elections is turning to outside counsel for help with a battle that could sway citywide elections for years to come. 

Five new attorneys will defend the Board of Elections against a Republican-led lawsuit calling the new law unconstitutional and illegal.

Earlier this month the Board of Elections filed for an extension in the case, citing the need to seek “last minute” legal counsel. That has arrived in the form of three lawyers from Stroock and Stroock and Lavan LLP  as well as two from Vogel Baran Torchinsky & Josefiak PLLC. 

The case concerns a new law that would allow more than 800,000 non-citizen residents to vote in New York’s municipal elections.

Republicans filed a suit against the law in early January, almost immediately after it was signed. Plaintiffs include City Council members who opposed the measure as well as Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis and the Republican National Committee.

The case had faced multiple delays before the latest move to seek outside help. Previous extensions have reportedly been based on procedural issues as well as the “the enormous task of election district reapportionment.”

Originally, the Board of Elections’ response was due on February 2. It was then extended to February 16 and again to February 25.

This led representatives for the plaintiffs to accuse the Board of Elections of intentionally delaying proceedings, accusations that were denied.

“The Mayor and the Council have said they would vigorously defend this law, and we’ve formally begun that process with the filing of today’s answer,” a representative for the Board of Elections told The New York Sun.

On March 18, the Board of Elections was granted a final extension and a new deadline for its response was set to April 11. 

The Richmond County Supreme Court, which is handling the case, ordered that “no further extensions will be granted.” The next hearing for the case will be on April 13.