NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5975
SPONSOR: Shimsky TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the town law, in relation to holding the election of
fire district commissioners on the same day as the election of school
board members
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To require the election of fire .district commissioners to take place on
the same date and at the same location as elections of school board
members.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends town law section 175 (1), as amended by
chapter 334 of the laws of 2011, to provide that:
1. An annual election in each fire district shall be held on the same
date and at the same polling place as the election of the school board
members for the school district of the municipality.
2. The secretary of such fire district shall, subject to the approval of
the board of elections, prepare the ballots for all elections of fire
district officers and the polls shall remain open for the receipt of
ballots at all elections of fire district officers from six o'clock in
the morning until nine o'clock in the evening.
3. The method and manner of submission, preparation and provision of
ballots and ballot labels, use of voting machines, qualifications of
voters, correcting registers, and conducting the election, canvassing
the result and making and filing,the returns, and all other procedures
with reference to the submission of any vote, shall be in the same meth-
od and manner used for voting in the school board election, or as close
as is practical, as determined by the county board of elections.
4. All costs associated with such fire district ballots and any addi-
tional poll workers necessary for such vote shall be borne by such fire
district.
5. The local board of elections shall appoint such poll workers as
deemed necessary by such board and shall prescribe their duties, titles,
ranks and salary in accordance with the provisions set forth in election
law section 3-300.
Section 2 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Fire district elections historically have low voter turnout as they are
not currently held on the same day as higher profile elections such as
the November elections or school board elections-when more people turn
out to vote.
This legislation will require the election of fire district commission-
ers take place on the same date and at the same location as elections of
school board members. This is to ensure a higher turnout of voters for
fire district elections. Democracy is most effective when more people
cast their ballots.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A5279 referred to local governments
2019-20: A1950 referred to local governments;
2017-18: A1896 referred to local governments;
2016: A1208 referred to local governments;
2014: A8807 referred to local governments
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5975
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 24, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SHIMSKY -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to holding the election of
fire district commissioners on the same day as the election of school
board members
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 175 of the town law, as amended by
2 chapter 347 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
3 1. An annual election shall be held in each fire district on the
4 [second Tuesday in December, except that in the Ocean Bay Park fire
5 district, the Lonelyville fire district, the Davis Park fire district,
6 the Cherry Grove fire district, the Fair Harbor fire district and the
7 Fire Island Pines fire district, Suffolk county, such annual election
8 shall be held on the second Tuesday in July, except that in the town of
9 Salisbury, Herkimer county, such annual election shall be held on the
10 Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November from six o'clock in
11 the morning until nine o'clock in the evening and except that in the
12 Belfast fire district, Allegany county, such annual election shall be
13 held on the first Tuesday in December] same date and at the same polling
14 place as the election of school board members for the school district of
15 the municipality. The board of fire commissioners shall give notice
16 thereof by the publication of a notice once in one or more newspapers
17 having a general circulation in the district. The first publication of
18 such notice shall be not less than twenty-seven days and not more than
19 thirty-four days prior to the date of such election. Such notice shall
20 specify the time when and the place where such election will be held,
21 the officers to be elected thereat and their terms of office, and the
22 hours during which the polls will be open for the receipt of ballots.
23 The secretary of such fire district shall, subject to the approval of
24 the board of elections, prepare the ballots for all elections of fire
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09680-01-3
A. 5975 2
1 district officers and the polls shall remain open for the receipt there-
2 of at all elections of fire district officers from six o'clock in the
3 [evening] morning until nine o'clock in the evening [and such additional
4 consecutive hours prior thereto as the board of fire commissioners of
5 such district may have determined and specified in the notice thereof.
6 The board of fire commissioners shall designate a resident fire district
7 elector, who shall be a registered voter of the town, to act as chairman
8 of any election of said district and shall designate not less than two
9 nor more than four resident fire district electors, who shall be regis-
10 tered voters of the town to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks
11 at such elections. No elective officer of the fire district shall serve
12 as such chairman or as an election inspector or ballot clerk. The board
13 of fire commissioners may adopt a resolution providing that such chair-
14 man, election inspectors and ballot clerks shall be paid for their
15 respective services at any such annual election or at any special
16 election of the fire district. Such resolution, if adopted, shall fix
17 the amount of such compensation, as follows: if the hours during which
18 the polls will be open for the receipt of ballots are from six o'clock
19 in the evening until nine o'clock in the evening, a sum not to exceed
20 seventy dollars for each such official; if additional consecutive hours
21 prior to six o'clock in the evening are determined and specified in the
22 notice of election, a sum not to exceed one hundred dollars for each
23 such official]. The method and manner of submission, preparation and
24 provision of ballots and ballot labels, use of voting machines, quali-
25 fications of voters, correcting registers, and conducting the election,
26 canvassing the result and making and filing the returns, and all other
27 procedures with reference to the submission of any vote, shall be in the
28 same method and manner used for voting in the school board election, or
29 as close as is practical, as determined by the county board of elections
30 provided, however, that all costs associated with such ballots and any
31 additional poll workers necessary for such vote shall be borne by such
32 fire district. The local board of elections shall appoint such poll
33 workers as deemed necessary by such board and shall prescribe their
34 duties, titles, ranks and salary in accordance with the provision set
35 forth in section 3-300 of the election law.
36 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
