Amd §§3-400, 4-117, 8-100, 8-102, 8-104 & 8-508, add Art 8 Title 6 §§8-600 - 8-602, El L
Relates to early voting; provides that beginning the eighth day prior to any election and ending on and including the second day prior to the election a person duly registered and eligible to vote shall be permitted to vote.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3813--C
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 18, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sens. STEWART-COUSINS, ADDABBO, AVELLA, COMRIE, DILAN,
ESPAILLAT, GIANARIS, HAMILTON, HOYLMAN, KRUEGER, PARKER, PERALTA,
PERKINS, SANDERS, SERRANO, SQUADRON, STAVISKY -- read twice and
ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
Elections -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the
Committee on Elections in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- reported favorably from said commit-
tee and committed to the Committee on Local Government -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to early voting
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3-400 of the election law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 9 to read as follows:
3 9. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this article,
4 election inspectors or poll clerks, if any, at polling places for early
5 voting, shall consist of either board of elections employees who shall
6 be appointed by the commissioners of such board or duly qualified indi-
7 viduals, appointed in the manner set forth in this section. Appointments
8 to the offices of election inspector or poll clerk in each polling place
9 for early voting shall be equally divided between the major political
10 parties. The board of elections shall assign staff and provide the
11 resources they require to ensure wait times at early voting sites do not
12 exceed thirty minutes.
13 § 2. Section 4-117 of the election law is amended by adding a new
14 subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
15 1-a. The notice required by subdivision one of this section shall
16 include the dates, hours and locations of early voting for the general
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02563-04-6
S. 3813--C 2
1 and primary election. The board of elections may satisfy the notice
2 requirement of this subdivision by providing in the notice instructions
3 to obtain the required early voting information from a website of the
4 board of elections and providing a phone number to call for such infor-
5 mation.
6 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-100 of the election law, as amended by
7 chapter 335 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows:
8 2. Polls shall be open for voting during the following hours: a prima-
9 ry election from twelve o'clock noon until nine o'clock in the evening,
10 except in the city of New York and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk,
11 Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam and Erie, and in such city or
12 county from [six] seven o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock in the
13 evening; the general election from six o'clock in the morning until nine
14 o'clock in the evening; a special election called by the governor pursu-
15 ant to the public officers law, and, except as otherwise provided by
16 law, every other election, from [six] seven o'clock in the morning until
17 nine o'clock in the evening; early voting hours shall be as provided in
18 section 8-600 of this article.
19 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 8-102 of the election law is amended by
20 adding a new paragraph (k) to read as follows:
21 (k) Voting at each polling place for early voting shall be conducted
22 in a manner consistent with the provisions of this article, with the
23 exception of the tabulation and proclamation of election results which
24 shall be completed according to subdivisions eight and nine of section
25 8-600 of this article.
26 § 5. Section 8-104 of the election law is amended by adding a new
27 subdivision 7 to read as follows:
28 7. This section shall apply on all early voting days as provided for
29 in section 8-600 of this article.
30 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 8-508 of the election
31 law, as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read
32 as follows:
33 (b) The second section of such report shall be reserved for the board
34 of inspectors to enter the name, address and registration serial number
35 of each person who is challenged on the day of election or on any day in
36 which there is early voting pursuant to section 8-600 of this article,
37 together with the reason for the challenge. If no voters are chal-
38 lenged, the board of inspectors shall enter the words "No Challenges"
39 across the space reserved for such names. In lieu of preparing section
40 two of the challenge report, the board of elections may provide, next to
41 the name of each voter on the computer generated registration list, a
42 place for the inspectors of election to record the information required
43 to be entered in such section two, or provide at the end of such comput-
44 er generated registration list, a place for the inspectors of election
45 to enter such information.
46 § 7. Article 8 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 6
47 to read as follows:
48 TITLE VI
49 EARLY VOTING
50 Section 8-600. Early voting.
51 8-602. State board of elections; powers and duties for early
52 voting.
53 § 8-600. Early voting. 1. Beginning the eighth day prior to any gener-
54 al, primary or special election for any public or party office, and
55 ending on and including the second day prior to such general, primary or
56 special election for such public or party office, persons duly regis-
S. 3813--C 3
1 tered and eligible to vote at such election shall be permitted to vote
2 as provided in this title. The board of elections of each county and
3 the city of New York shall establish procedures, subject to approval of
4 the state board of elections, to ensure that persons who vote during the
5 early voting period shall not be permitted to vote subsequently in the
6 same election.
7 2. (a) The board of elections of each county or the city of New York
8 shall designate polling places for early voting in each county, which
9 may include the offices of the board of elections, for persons to vote
10 early pursuant to this section. There shall be so designated at least
11 one early voting polling place for every full increment of fifty thou-
12 sand registered voters in each county; provided, however, the number of
13 early voting polling places in a county shall not be required to be
14 greater than seven, and a county with fewer than fifty thousand voters
15 shall have at least one early voting polling place.
16 (b) The board of elections of each county or the city of New York may
17 establish additional polling places for early voting in excess of the
18 minimum number required by this subdivision for the convenience of
19 eligible voters wishing to vote during the early voting period.
20 (c) Notwithstanding the minimum number of early voting poll sites
21 otherwise required by this subdivision, for any primary or special
22 election, upon majority vote of the board of elections, the number of
23 early voting sites may be reduced if the board of elections reasonably
24 determines a lesser number of sites is sufficient to meet the needs of
25 early voters.
26 (d) Polling places for early voting shall be located to ensure, to the
27 extent practicable, that eligible voters have adequate equitable access,
28 taking into consideration population density, travel time to the polling
29 place, proximity to other locations or commonly used transportation
30 routes and such other factors the board of elections of the county or
31 the city of New York deems appropriate. The provisions of section 4-104
32 of this chapter, except subdivisions four and five of such section,
33 shall apply to the designation of polling places for early voting except
34 to the extent such provisions are inconsistent with this section.
35 3. Any person permitted to vote early may do so at any polling place
36 for early voting established pursuant to subdivision two of this section
37 in the county where such voter is registered to vote. Provided, however,
38 (a) if it is impractical to provide each polling place for early voting
39 all appropriate ballots for each election to be voted on in the county,
40 or (b) if permitting such persons to vote early at any polling place
41 established for early voting would make it impractical to ensure that
42 such voter has not previously voted early during such election, the
43 board of elections may designate each polling place for early voting
44 only for those voters registered to vote in a portion of the county to
45 be served by such polling place for early voting, provided that all
46 voters in each county shall have one or more polling places at which
47 they are eligible to vote throughout the early voting period on a
48 substantially equal basis.
49 4. (a) Polls shall be open for early voting for at least eight hours
50 between seven o'clock in the morning and eight o'clock in the evening
51 each week day during the early voting period.
52 (b) At least one polling place for early voting shall remain open
53 until eight o'clock in the evening on at least two week days in each
54 calendar week during the early voting period. If polling places for
55 early voting are limited to voters from certain areas pursuant to subdi-
56 vision three of this section, polling places that remain open until
S. 3813--C 4
1 eight o'clock shall be designated such that any person entitled to vote
2 early may vote until eight o'clock in the evening on at least two week
3 days during the early voting period.
4 (c) Polls shall be open for early voting for at least five hours
5 between nine o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the evening on
6 each Saturday, Sunday and legal holiday during the early voting period.
7 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any board
8 of elections from establishing a greater number of hours for voting
9 during the early voting period beyond the number of hours required in
10 this subdivision.
11 (e) Early voting polling places and their hours of operation for early
12 voting at a general election shall be designated by May first of each
13 year pursuant to subdivision one of section 4-104 of this chapter.
14 Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of section 4-104 of
15 this chapter requiring poll site designation by May first, early voting
16 polling places and their hours of operation for early voting for a
17 primary or special election shall be made not later than forty-five days
18 before such primary or special election.
19 5. Each board of elections shall create a communication plan to inform
20 eligible voters of the opportunity to vote early. Such plan may utilize
21 any and all media outlets, including social media, and shall publicize:
22 the location and dates and hours of operation of all polling places for
23 early voting; an indication of whether each polling place is accessible
24 to voters with physical disabilities; a clear and unambiguous notice to
25 voters that if they cast a ballot during the early voting period they
26 will not be allowed to vote election day; and if polling places for
27 early voting are limited to voters from certain areas pursuant to subdi-
28 vision three of this section, the location of the polling places for
29 early voting serving the voters of each particular city, town or other
30 political subdivision.
31 6. The form of paper ballots used in early voting shall comply with
32 the provisions of article seven of this chapter that are applicable to
33 voting by paper ballot on election day and such ballot shall be cast in
34 the same manner as provided for in section 8-312 of this article,
35 provided, however, that ballots cast during the early voting period
36 shall be secured in the manner of voted ballots cast on election day and
37 such ballots shall not be canvassed or examined until after the close of
38 the polls on election day, and no unofficial tabulations of election
39 results shall be printed or viewed in any manner until after the close
40 of polls on election day.
41 7. Voters casting ballots pursuant to this title shall be subject to
42 challenge as provided in sections 8-500, 8-502 and 8-504 of this arti-
43 cle.
44 8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, at the end of
45 each day of early voting, any early voting ballots that have not been
46 scanned because a ballot scanner was not available or because the ballot
47 has been abandoned by the voter at the ballot scanner shall be cast in a
48 manner consistent with section 9-110 of this chapter, except that such
49 ballots which cannot then be cast on a ballot scanner shall be held
50 inviolate and unexamined and shall be duly secured until after the close
51 of polls on election day when such ballots shall be examined and
52 canvassed in a manner consistent with subdivision two of section 9-110
53 of this chapter.
54 9. The board of elections shall secure all ballots and scanners used
55 for early voting from the beginning of the early voting period through
56 the close of the polls on election day; provided, however, the state
S. 3813--C 5
1 board of elections may by regulation duly adopted by a majority of such
2 board establish a procedure whereby ballot scanners used for early
3 voting may also be used on election day if the portable memory devices
4 used during early voting containing the early voting election informa-
5 tion and vote tabulations are properly secured apart from the scanners,
6 and the results therefrom shall be duly canvassed after the close of
7 polls on election day.
8 10. After the close of polls on election day, inspectors or board of
9 elections employees appointed to canvass ballots cast during early
10 voting shall follow all relevant provisions of article nine of this
11 chapter that are not inconsistent with this section, for canvassing,
12 processing, recording, and announcing results of voting at polling plac-
13 es for early voting, and securing ballots, scanners, and other election
14 materials. Such canvass may occur at the offices of the board of
15 elections, at the early voting polling place or such other location
16 designated by the board of elections.
17 11. Notwithstanding the requirements of this title requiring the
18 canvass of ballots cast during early voting after the close of polls on
19 election day, such canvass may begin one hour before the scheduled close
20 of polls on election day provided the board of elections adopts proce-
21 dures to prevent the public release of election results prior to the
22 close of polls on election day and such procedures shall be consistent
23 with the regulations of the state board of elections and shall be filed
24 with the state board of elections at least thirty days before they shall
25 be effective.
26 § 8-602. State board of elections; powers and duties for early voting.
27 Any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of the
28 provisions of this title shall be promulgated by the state board of
29 elections provided that such rules and regulations shall include
30 provisions to ensure that ballots cast early, by any method allowed
31 under law, are counted and canvassed as if cast on election day. The
32 state board of elections shall promulgate any other rules and regu-
33 lations necessary to ensure an efficient and fair early voting process
34 that respects the privacy of the voter. Provided, further, that such
35 rules and regulations shall require that the voting history record for
36 each voter be continually updated to reflect each instance of early
37 voting by such voter.
38 § 8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
39 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to any
40 election held 120 days or more after it shall have taken effect.
