Relates to the Uniondale public library district; amends certain dates and certain rights of the board to allow for additional time for the public to participate in the election process.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6163--A
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 10, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DARLING -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Libraries and Education Technology -- committee discharged,
bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said
committee
AN ACT to amend chapter 1017 of the laws of 1963 relating to establish-
ing the Uniondale public library district in the town of Hempstead,
Nassau county, in relation to certain dates pertaining to the annual
election process and certain rights of the board
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 3 of chapter 1017 of the laws of 1963 relating to
2 establishing the Uniondale public library district in the town of Hemp-
3 stead, Nassau county, as amended by chapter 779 of the laws of 1964, is
4 amended to read as follows:
5 § 3. The board of trustees of the public library of said union free
6 school district number two, town of Hempstead, in office on the effec-
7 tive date of this act shall constitute the board of trustees of the
8 Uniondale public library district herein established. Each such trustee
9 of the district herein established shall continue to hold office as such
10 for the balance of his or her term as trustee of such school district
11 library and until his or her successor is elected. Thereafter, on the
12 [first Tuesday of December] third Thursday of October in each calendar
13 year in which the term of any such trustee shall expire, an election
14 shall be held for a trustee to succeed such trustee for a term of five
15 years commencing the first day of January next succeeding such election.
16 The [trustee] board of trustees shall give notice thereof by the
17 publication of a notice at least once in one or more newspapers having a
18 general circulation in the district. The [first] publication of such
19 notice shall be [not less than thirteen days and not more than twenty]
20 at least forty-five days prior to the date of such election. In addi-
21 tion, the trustees of such district shall cause copies of such notice to
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09444-02-1
A. 6163--A 2
1 be posted conspicuously in five public places in the district at least
2 [thirteen] forty-five days prior to the date of such election. Such
3 notice shall specify the time when and the place where such election
4 will be held, the officers to be elected thereat and their terms of
5 office, and the hours during which the polls will be open for the
6 receipt of ballots. The trustees of such district shall prepare the
7 ballots for all elections of trustees and the polls shall remain open
8 for the receipt thereof at all elections from [seven] six o'clock in the
9 evening until [ten] nine o'clock in the evening and such additional
10 consecutive hours prior thereto as the trustees may have determined and
11 specified in the notice thereof. The trustees shall designate a resident
12 taxpayer of such district to act as chairman of any election of said
13 district and shall designate not less than two nor more than four resi-
14 dent taxpayers to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks, and may
15 designate additional alternative inspectors who shall assume the office
16 of inspector upon the inability or refusal of an inspector to assume or
17 perform his or her duties, at such elections. No trustee shall serve as
18 such chairman or as an election inspector or ballot clerk. The trustees
19 may adopt a resolution providing that such chairman, election inspectors
20 and ballot clerks shall be paid for their respective services at any
21 such annual election or at any special election. Such resolution, if
22 adopted, shall fix the amount of such compensation [but the amount shall
23 not exceed ten dollars] for each such official.
24 Every elector of the town who shall have resided in the district for
25 the period of thirty days next preceding any election of trustees shall
26 be qualified to vote.
27 Every trustee must at the time of his or her election or appointment
28 and throughout his or her term of office be [(1)] a resident elector of
29 such district [and (2) the owner of property within such district
30 assessed upon the latest completed assessment roll of the Town of Hemp-
31 stead].
32 The board of trustees may, by resolution, provide for absentee ballots
33 for the election of the office of trustee, in accordance with the
34 provisions of section 213-b of the town law.
35 The board of trustees may provide by resolution that candidates for
36 office of trustee shall file their names with the secretary of the board
37 of trustees at least thirty days prior to the date of the elections,
38 and, in addition, require that such nominations be submitted in petition
39 form subscribed by twenty-five registered voters of the district. Ther-
40 eafter, the ballots for the election of the office of trustee shall
41 specify the names of the candidates duly filed and, in addition, provide
42 proper blank spaces for each office to be filled at such election. If
43 any such resolution shall be adopted, the requirements thereof shall be
44 specified in the notice of each district election held thereafter. The
45 board of trustees may rescind such resolution at any time.
46 After the [poles] polls shall have been closed at any election held
47 for the election of trustees, the election inspectors and ballot clerks
48 shall immediately canvass publicly the ballots cast and the chairman of
49 the election shall publicly announce the result. Within twenty-four
50 hours thereafter, the chairman, election inspectors and ballot clerks
51 shall execute and file a certificate of the result of the canvass with
52 the trustees and with the town clerk.
53 If the number of voters is so great as to render it inexpedient or
54 impossible to conduct the election at one polling place, the trustees
55 may divide the district into election districts and provide a polling
56 place for each such election district, provided, however, that the
A. 6163--A 3
1 number of election districts shall not exceed one for each six hundred
2 electors plus one for a remaining fraction of six hundred. In such
3 event, the notice specified in [subdivision one of] this section shall
4 describe the election districts and state where the polling places will
5 be located, and the trustees shall designate not less than two nor more
6 than four resident taxpayers to act as election inspectors and ballot
7 clerks, and may designate additional alternative inspectors who shall
8 assume the office of inspector upon the inability or refusal of an
9 inspector to assume or perform his or her duties and additional clerical
10 help, as needed, at each such polling place. The trustees may adopt a
11 resolution providing that such election inspectors and ballot clerks
12 shall be paid for their respective services at any such annual election
13 or at any special election of the district. Such resolution, if adopted,
14 shall fix the amount of such compensation [but the amount shall not
15 exceed ten dollars for such official]. No trustee shall serve as an
16 election inspector or ballot clerk.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
