Requires that candidates for certain offices be residents and registered voters in the district containing the public office or party position sought at certain times during the electoral process.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5051
SPONSOR: Jacobson TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring that candi-
dates for certain offices be residents and registered voters in the
district containing the public office or party position sought at
certain times during the electoral process
PURPOSE:
To require that at the time of the filing of a designating or nominating
petition, the time of the party caucus nominating the candidate or the
filing the acceptance of nomination, the candidate would be a resident
and a registered voter of the district in which the candidate would be
running. This bill would not apply to candidates for representative in
Congress, justice of the Supreme Court, for the Assembly, State Senate
and member of a party county committee.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends Section 6-136 of the Election Law by adding a new
subdivision 5 which provides that at the time of the filing of a desig-
nation petition or party position, the candidate shall be a resident and
registered voter in the district containing the public office or party
position. The county, city, town or village may impose more stringent
residency requirements. Failure to meet these requirements shall render
the petition void. These requirements shall be in addition to all other
requirements required by law.
An exception is made to candidates for member of a party county commit-
tee since pursuant to Election Law 2-106, the candidate may run for any
district in the County and Assembly District that the candidate resides.
This section shall not apply to candidates for representative in
Congress, State Assembly or State Senate.
Section 2 amends 6-138 of the Election Law by adding a new subdivision 5
which provides that at the time of the filing of an independent nomi-
nation petition for public office, the candidate shall be a resident and
registered voter in the district containing the public office. The coun-
ty, city, town or village may impose more stringent residency require-
ments. Failure to meet these requirements shall render the petition
void. These requirements shall be in addition to all other requirements
required by law. This section shall not apply to candidates for repre-
sentative in Congress, State Assembly or State Senate.
Section 3 amends Section 6-108 of the Election Law by adding a new
subdivision 4 which provides that at the time of the party caucus, the
candidate the candidate shall be a resident and registered voter in the
district containing the public office. A town may impose more stringent
residency requirements. Failure to meet these requirements shall render
the certificate of designation or nomination void. These requirements
shall be in addition to all other requirements required by law.
Section 4 amends Section 6-146 of the Election Law by adding a new
subdivision 6 which provides that a candidate filing a certificate
accepting the designation or nomination shall be a resident and regis-
tered voter in the district containing the public offite sought. Fail-
ure to meet these requirements shall render the certificate of desig-
nation or nomination void. These requirements shall be in addition to
all other requirements required by law. The county, city, town or
village may impose more stringent residency requirements. Failure to
meet these requirements shall render the petition void. These require-
ments shall be in addition to all other requirements required by law.
This section shall not apply to candidates for representative in
Congress, State Assembly, State Senate or for justice of the Supreme
Court.
Section 5 amends Section 6-122 of the Election Law is amended by renum-
bering existing language under a new subdivision 1 and adding a new
subdivision (d) which provides that a person shall not be designated or
nominated for a public office or party position who is not a resident of
the district and registered to vote in the district containing the
public office or party position. The county, city, town or village may
impose more stringent residency requirements. A new subdivision 2 is
added which states that subdivision (d) does not apply to the office of
representative in Congress, State Assembly or State Senate or justice of
the supreme court.
Section 6 is the effective date which is immediately,
JUSTIFICATION:
Current law requires that a local officeholder reside in the district,
municipality, or area that office represents at the "commencement of the
term of such office,"
However, there is no State requirement stipulating that a candidate for
local office be either a resident or a registered voter of the district,
municipality, or area represented by that office at the time the candi-
date files a designating or nominating petition or is nominated at a
party caucus.
There is no State law requirement that a candidate for a local office
reside in the district in which election is sought at the time the peti-
tion is filed Clark v McCoy, 196 AD2d 607 (2d. Dept. 1993) lv denied, 82
N.Y.2d 653). "Election'Law § 6-122 simply prohibits a person from being
designated or nominated for public office who cannot meet the statutory
or constitutional qualifications at the 'commencement of the term of
such office.' Public Officers Law § 3 (1) adds that candidates satisfy
residency requirements as of the time they are elected" (Weidman v Star-
kweather, 80 N.Y.2d 955 (1992).
Local charters or laws may impose more stringent residency requirements
for local offices. (Scavo v Albany County Board of Elections, 131 AD3d
796 (3rd Dept 2015)
Candidates for New York State Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Senate, or
Assembly must meet certain residency requirements in order to seek those
offices. Candidates for Governor or Lieutenant Governor must be a resi-
dent of the state for the "five years next preceding the election" (New
York State Constitution: Art. IV Section 2). Similarly, candidates for
the office of Member of New York State Senate or Assembly must meet two
constitutional residency requirements: Five years of residency in the
state and residency is the district for "twelve months immediately
preceding his or her election." An exception is made for an election for
the Assembly or State Senate when the district is redrawn and, in that
case, the candidate must have lived in in the county containing the
district for a least 12 months prior to the election (New York State
Constitution: Article 3, Section 7)
This bill would change the law with respect to local.offices, requiring
that the candidate - at the time of the filing the designating or nomi-
nating petition - be both a resident and a registered voter of the
district, municipality, or area the candidate seeks to represent. Muni-
cipalities would also be permitted to enact more stringent requirements
such as a one-year resident requirement.
This bill would also apply to candidates for party positions excepting
that of member of a county committee which has its own residency
requirements and requires that the candidate only be a resident of the
county and the Assembly district containing the election district which
the candidate seeks to represent.
This law would apply only to candidates for local offices and not to
candidates for Congress, the State Assembly, State Senate, or State
Supreme Court.
This bill would help ensure that local candidates have a genuine under-
standing of the constituency they seek to represent while also helping
to prevent spoiler candidates who are not serious in being elected but
running only to affect the final outcome.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A8184 - Referred to Assembly Election Law Committee
2023-2024: A1277 - Referred to Assembly Election Law Committee
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5051
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 11, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, EACHUS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring that candi-
dates for certain offices be residents and registered voters in the
district containing the public office or party position sought at
certain times during the electoral process
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 6-136 of the election law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 4 to read as follows:
3 4. At the time of the filing of a designating petition for a public
4 office or a party position, the candidate shall be a resident and regis-
5 tered voter in the district containing the public office or party posi-
6 tion sought. A county, city, town or village may impose more stringent
7 residency requirements. A candidate for member of the county committee
8 need only be a resident and registered to vote in the Assembly district
9 which contains the election district that the candidate is running in.
10 Failure to meet these requirements shall render the petition void. These
11 requirements shall be in addition to all other requirements required by
12 law. This section shall not apply to a candidate for representative in
13 congress, or to a candidate for the state assembly or state senate.
14 § 2. Section 6-138 of the election law is amended by adding a new
15 subdivision 5 to read as follows:
16 5. At the time of the filing of an independent nominating petition for
17 public office, the candidate shall be a resident and registered voter in
18 the district containing the public office. Failure to meet these
19 requirements shall render the petition void. These requirements shall be
20 in addition to all other requirements required by law. A county, city,
21 town or village may impose more stringent residency requirements. This
22 section shall not apply to a candidate for representative in congress,
23 or to a candidate for the state assembly or state senate.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03368-01-5
A. 5051 2
1 § 3. Section 6-108 of the election law is amended by adding a new
2 subdivision 4 to read as follows:
3 4. At the time of a party caucus, the candidate shall be a resident
4 and registered voter in the district containing the public office
5 sought. Failure to meet these requirements shall render the certificate
6 of designation or nomination void. These requirements shall be in addi-
7 tion to all other requirements required by law. A town may impose more
8 stringent residency requirements.
9 § 4. Section 6-146 of the election law is amended by adding a new
10 subdivision 8 to read as follows:
11 8. The candidate filing a certificate accepting the designation or
12 nomination under this section shall be a resident and registered voter
13 in the district containing the public office sought. Failure to meet
14 these requirements shall render the certificate of acceptance void. A
15 county, city, town or village may impose more stringent residency
16 requirements. These requirements shall be in addition to all other
17 requirements required by law. This section shall not apply to a candi-
18 date for representative in congress, or to a candidate for the state
19 assembly or state senate, or a candidate for justice of the supreme
20 court.
21 § 5. Section 6-122 of the election law, as amended by chapter 511 of
22 the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
23 § 6-122. Designation or nomination; eligibility, restrictions. 1. A
24 person shall not be designated or nominated for a public office or party
25 position who [(1)]:
26 (a) is not a citizen of the state of New York;
27 [(2)] (b) is ineligible to be elected to such office or position; [or
28 (3)] (c) who, if elected will not at the time of commencement of the
29 term of such office or position, meet the constitutional or statutory
30 qualifications thereof or, with respect to judicial office, who will not
31 meet such qualifications within thirty days of the commencement of the
32 term of such office; or
33 (d) at the time of such designation or nomination shall not be a resi-
34 dent of the district and not registered to vote in the district contain-
35 ing the public office or party position. A county, city, town or village
36 may impose more stringent residency requirements. A candidate for member
37 of the county committee need only be a resident and registered to vote
38 in the Assembly district which contains the election district that the
39 candidate is running in.
40 2. The provisions of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section
41 shall not apply to the office of representative in congress, or to the
42 office of representative in the state assembly or state senate, or to
43 the office of justice of the supreme court.
44 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
