Removes party lines from ballots and has candidates' names appearing only once on a ballot for an office for all elections that are not presidential or gubernatorial.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
4094
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 31, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BURKE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to removing party lines
from ballots for all elections that are not presidential or gubernato-
rial
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 7-104 of the election law, as amended by chapter
2 411 of the laws of 2019 and subdivision 11 as amended by chapter 217 of
3 the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
4 § 7-104. Ballots; form of. 1. All ballots shall be printed and/or
5 displayed in a format and arrangement, of such uniform size and style as
6 will fit the ballot, and shall be in as plain and clear a type or
7 display as the space will reasonably permit, using only sans serif print
8 fonts. Such type or display on the ballot shall satisfy all requirements
9 and standards set forth pursuant to the federal Help America Vote Act.
10 2. [The] For presidential and gubernatorial races for office, the
11 names of parties or independent bodies which contain more than fifteen
12 letters may, whenever limitations of space so require, be printed on the
13 ballot in an abbreviated form. In printing the names of candidates whose
14 full names contain more than fifteen letters, only the surname must be
15 printed in full. The officer or board charged with the duty of certify-
16 ing the candidates for such office shall request each such candidate to
17 indicate, in writing, the shortened form in which, subject to this
18 restriction, [his or her] their name shall be printed. If no such indi-
19 cation is received from such candidate within the time specified in the
20 request, such officer or board shall make the necessary determination.
21 3. (a) The party name or other designation shall be affixed to the
22 name of each candidate, or, in case of presidential electors, to the
23 names of the candidates for president and vice-president of such party.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08062-01-5
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1 (b) [A] For presidential and gubernatorial races for office, a
2 column/row designating number may be affixed to the name of each candi-
3 date, or in the case of presidential electors, to the names of the
4 candidates for president and vice-president of such party.
5 (c) The titles of offices may be arranged horizontally, with the names
6 of candidates for an office and the space, slot or device for write-in
7 votes for such office arranged vertically under the title of the office,
8 or the titles of offices may be arranged vertically, with the names of
9 candidates for an office and the space, slot or device for write-in
10 votes for such office arranged horizontally opposite the title of the
11 office.
12 (d) Each office shall occupy as many columns or rows on the ballot as
13 the number of candidates to be elected to that office[, except where
14 candidate placements due to cross endorsements require additional
15 columns or rows] and shall be contained within its own section of the
16 ballot.
17 4. (a) The names of all candidates nominated [by any party or inde-
18 pendent body for an office shall always appear in the row or column
19 containing generally the names of candidates nominated by such party or
20 independent body for other offices except as hereinafter provided] shall
21 appear only once per office to be filled at the election, except for
22 presidential and gubernatorial races for office.
23 (b) [When] For presidential and gubernatorial races for office, the
24 following may apply:
25 (i) When the same person has been nominated for an office to be filled
26 at the election by more than one party, the voting machine shall be so
27 adjusted that [his or her] their name shall appear in each row or column
28 containing generally the names of candidates for other offices nominated
29 by any such party.
30 [(c)] (ii) If such candidate has also been nominated by one or more
31 independent bodies, [his or her] their name shall appear only in each
32 [row or] column containing generally the names of candidates for other
33 offices nominated by any such party and the name of each such independ-
34 ent body shall appear in one such [row or] column to be designated by
35 the candidate in a writing filed with the officer or board charged with
36 the duty of certifying the candidates for such office, or if such person
37 shall fail to so designate, the names of such independent bodies shall
38 appear in such [row or] column as such officer or board shall determine.
39 [(d)] (iii) If any person shall be nominated for any office by one
40 party and two or more independent bodies [his or her] their name shall
41 appear on the ballot twice; once in the [row or] column containing
42 generally the names of candidates for other offices nominated by such
43 party, and once in the [row or] column containing generally the names of
44 candidates nominated by the independent body designated by such person
45 in a writing filed with the officer or board charged with the duty of
46 certifying the candidates for such office and in connection with the
47 name of such person in such [row or] column shall appear the name of
48 each independent body nominating [him or her] them or, if such person
49 shall fail to so designate, the name of such candidate and the names of
50 such independent bodies shall appear in such [row or] column as such
51 officer or board shall determine.
52 [(e)] (iv) If any person is nominated for any office only by more than
53 one independent bodies, [his or her] their name shall appear but once
54 upon the machine in one such [row or] column to be designated by the
55 candidate in a writing filed with the officer or board charged with the
56 duty of providing ballots, or if the candidate shall fail to so desig-
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1 nate, in the place designated by the officer or board charged with the
2 duty of certifying the candidates for such office, and in connection
3 with [his or her] their name there shall appear the name of each inde-
4 pendent body nominating [him or her] them, but, where the capacity of
5 the ballot will permit, the name of such person shall not appear or be
6 placed in a column [or on a horizontal line] with the names of persons
7 nominated by a party for other offices.
8 5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
9 the name of a person who is nominated for the office of president or
10 governor[, or state senator, or member of assembly,] shall appear on the
11 ballot as many times as there are parties or independent bodies nominat-
12 ing [him or her] them, and there shall be a separate voting position at
13 each place in which such name shall appear.
14 6. If any type of machine used in any county or city contains any
15 feature approved by the state board of elections, the use of which is
16 neither required nor prohibited by the provisions of this chapter, the
17 board of elections may, by resolution, require that one or more of such
18 features shall be used in such county. Thereafter all machines of such
19 type used in such county or city shall be operated in conformity with
20 any such resolution. Any such resolution may thereafter be rescinded by
21 such board and after being so rescinded may be re-adopted. Once re-a-
22 dopted by any board of elections, such a resolution may not be rescinded
23 again by such board.
24 7. [The] For presidential and gubernatorial races for office, the
25 ballot shall have printed upon it in black ink for each [party or inde-
26 pendent row, at the head of the column or the beginning of the row
27 containing the names of candidates] candidate, the name of the candidate
28 and the name of each party or independent body and the designating
29 letter of the row or column.
30 8. With respect to candidates for the offices of governor and lieuten-
31 ant governor of a party or independent body, ballots shall be printed so
32 that the names of such candidates for both offices shall appear in the
33 same row or column, with the name of the candidate for governor appear-
34 ing first and the ballot shall be so adjusted that both offices are
35 voted for jointly [and have but one designating number if such
36 column/row designating numbers are utilized].
37 9. In those counties in which ballots are required by federal law, or
38 otherwise, to be provided in a language other than English, there shall
39 be versions of the ballot printed in English and in each of the addi-
40 tional languages required so that each version of the ballot shall
41 contain English and no more than two other languages. The county board
42 of elections in such counties shall instruct, in their poll worker
43 training and materials, the procedures to be followed to ensure that
44 each voter receives a ballot with the appropriate language as determined
45 by the state board.
46 10. Each ballot shall contain instructions for marking the ballot. The
47 instructions shall be printed in line lengths no wider than five inches.
48 Ballot instructions may be printed on the front or back of the ballot or
49 on a separate sheet or card. If such instructions are not printed on the
50 front of the ballot, there shall be printed on the ballot, in the larg-
51 est size type practicable, the following legend: "See instructions on
52 the other side" or "See instructions (insert where instructions are
53 found)", whichever is appropriate.
54 11. (a) The offices appearing on all ballots shall be listed in the
55 order of precedence, as applicable to the offices up for election in any
56 given year, as follows: electors for president and vice-president of the
A. 4094 4
1 United States, governor and lieutenant governor, New York state comp-
2 troller, New York state attorney general, United States senator, member
3 of the house of representatives, New York state senator, member of the
4 New York state assembly. Any office which is not listed in this para-
5 graph shall not appear on the ballot in a position before or ahead of an
6 office which is listed.
7 (b) Immediately following the offices in paragraph (a) of this subdi-
8 vision, all other offices shall be placed upon the ballot in the custom-
9 ary order; provided, further, that partisan offices regardless of the
10 size of the constituency shall be listed before or ahead of nonpartisan
11 offices and all candidates for judicial offices shall follow all other
12 partisan offices.
13 12. If two or more candidates are nominated for the same office for
14 different terms, the term for which each is nominated shall be printed
15 as a part of the title of the office.
16 13. The text for ballot instructions shall be substantially as
17 follows, so that it accurately reflects the ballot layout:
18 INSTRUCTIONS
19 Mark the (insert "oval" or "square") to the left of the name of your
20 choice. (Provide illustration of correctly-marked voting position here.)
21 To vote for a candidate whose name is not printed on the ballot, (insert
22 "mark the oval (or square) to the left of 'write-in' and print the name
23 clearly" or "print the name clearly in the box labeled 'write-in'"),
24 staying within the box. Any mark or writing outside the spaces provided
25 for voting may void the entire ballot. The number of choices is listed
26 for each contest. Do not mark the ballot for more candidates than
27 allowed. If you do, your vote in that contest will not count. If you
28 make a mistake, or want to change your vote, ask a poll worker for a new
29 ballot.
30 14. The state board of elections shall provide line drawing illus-
31 trations to supplement these instructions. At a minimum, an illustration
32 of the correct way to mark the ballot shall be provided, but nothing in
33 this section shall be construed to limit the board in providing addi-
34 tional illustrations.
35 15. When a question or proposal is included on the ballot,
36 instructions substantially like the following shall be included:
37 Instructions for Voting on Questions and Proposals
38 To vote on a question or proposal, mark the (insert "oval" or "square")
39 to the (insert "left", "above" or "below") of your choice. If you make a
40 mistake, or want to change your vote, ask a poll worker for a new
41 ballot.
42 16. When a question or proposal appears on the back of the ballot,
43 there shall appear on the front of the ballot words or a symbol indicat-
44 ing that the voter should turn over the ballot.
45 17. The voting oval or square shall be to the left of the name of the
46 candidate.
47 18. All text, including the name of each candidate as provided in
48 subdivision three of this section, shall be printed using standard
49 capitalization in accordance with instructions provided by the state
50 board of elections and shall not be printed using all capital letters.
51 19. The ballot shall use one font or font family with enough vari-
52 ations for all text needs.
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1 20. "Vote for one" or "Vote for up to ......" (the blank space to be
2 filled with the number of persons to be nominated for the office or
3 elected to the position), as applicable, shall be printed immediately
4 below each office title appearing on the ballot.
5 21. No party emblems shall be printed on the ballot.
6 22. The names of candidates for the same office shall appear on the
7 same page and in the same column or columns or row or rows of that page
8 of a printed ballot, and may not be separated by a perforation.
9 23. All text, including the title of each office and the name of each
10 candidate, shall be printed flush left and shall not be centered on the
11 ballot or in any column or row appearing on the ballot; provided howev-
12 er, in a multi-column or multi-row contest, the title and number of
13 allowable selections to be made for each such office may be centered.
14 24. If used, shading shall be used consistently, so as to differen-
15 tiate instructions from ballot section dividers and contest information.
16 25. Above, below, or to the right of the name of each candidate, shall
17 be printed, in less prominent type face than that in which the candi-
18 date's name is printed, the name of [the] each political party or inde-
19 pendent body by which the candidate was nominated or designated.
20 26. All paper ballots of the same kind for the same polling place
21 shall be identical.
22 27. To the extent practicable, the ballot shall also comply with the
23 following specifications:
24 (a) The instructions in subdivision ten of this section shall be
25 printed in the upper left hand corner of the front of the ballot;
26 (b) The name of each candidate shall be printed using a font size of
27 not less than nine points;
28 (c) When the instructions are contained on the ballot, there shall be
29 a clear delineation between the ballot instructions and the first office
30 or ballot question or proposal through the use of white space, illus-
31 tration, shading, color, font size, or bold type.
32 § 2. Section 7-116 of the election law, subdivisions 2, 3, 4 and 6 as
33 amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, subdivision 3-a as added by
34 chapter 143 of the laws of 1996, subdivision 5 as amended by chapter 279
35 of the laws of 1992, and subdivision 7 as amended by chapter 231 of the
36 laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
37 § 7-116. Ballots; order of names on. 1. In printing the names of
38 candidates on the ballot for presidential and gubernatorial races for
39 office, the candidate or candidates of the party which polled for its
40 candidate for the office of governor at the last preceding election for
41 such office the highest number of votes, shall be the first row or
42 column [A or one] and the candidates of the other parties shall be
43 placed on such ballot in descending order of such votes.
44 2. [The officer or board who or which prepares the ballot shall deter-
45 mine the order in which shall appear, below the names of party candi-
46 dates the nominations made only by independent bodies. Such officer or
47 board also shall determine the order in which shall be printed the names
48 of two or more candidates nominated by one party or independent body,
49 for an office to which two or more persons are to be elected; provided,
50 however, that any such candidate may, by a writing filed with such board
51 or officer not later than three business days after the adjournment of
52 the convention or one week after the primary election nominating him or
53 her, or otherwise not later than two days after the filing of the peti-
54 tion or certificate nominating him or her, demand that such order be
55 determined by lot, and in that case such order shall be so determined,
56 upon two days notice by mail given by such board or officer to each
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1 candidate for such office. The state board of elections shall perform
2 the duties required by this subdivision in all cases affecting nomi-
3 nations filed in its office.
4 3. The officer or board with whom or which are filed the designations
5 for a public office or party position shall determine by lot, upon two
6 days notice by mail given by such board or officer to each candidate for
7 such office or position and to the committee, if any, named in the
8 designating petition, the order in which shall be printed on the offi-
9 cial primary ballot, under the title of the office or position, the
10 names of candidates for public office, the names of candidates for a
11 party position to which not more than one person is to be elected, and
12 the groups of names of candidates for party position where two or more
13 persons are to be elected thereto and any petition designates two or
14 more persons therefor, provided, however, that whenever groups of names
15 for more than one party position are designated by the same petition,
16 the order in which they shall be printed on the official primary ballot
17 shall be determined by a single lot. Candidates for delegate or deleg-
18 ates and alternate delegate or delegates to conventions designated by
19 the same petition shall, for the purpose of this subdivision, be treated
20 as one group. The names of candidates, if any, for a party position to
21 which two or more persons are to be elected, who are designated by indi-
22 vidual petitions and not in a group shall be printed after such group or
23 groups, in such order between themselves, as such officer or board shall
24 determine by lot upon the notice specified in this subdivision. The
25 names within a group of candidates designated for party position by one
26 petition shall be printed in the same order in which they appear in the
27 petition, unless they appear in a different order on different pages of
28 the petition, in which case their order within the group shall be deter-
29 mined by such officer or board by lot upon the notice specified in this
30 subdivision. Candidates for members of a state committee designated by a
31 single petition shall, for the purposes of this subdivision, be treated
32 as one group. However, the notice to a committee of the drawing need not
33 be mailed to more than five members, if there be that many, and as to
34 offices or party positions for which designating petitions are filed
35 with the board of elections of the city of New York the notice shall be
36 given to the committees only.
37 3-a. The state board of elections shall prescribe the method, or two
38 or more alternative methods, for making the determinations by lot
39 required by subdivisions two and three of this section. Each county
40 board of elections shall adopt one of such methods at least ninety days
41 before any election to which such method shall apply.
42 4.] In printing the names of candidates on the ballot for all other
43 elections, the candidate or candidates of the party which polled for
44 its candidate for the office at the last preceding election for such
45 office the highest number of votes, shall be the first row or column and
46 the candidates of the other parties shall be placed on such ballot in
47 descending order of such votes.
48 3. If a vacancy in a designation or nomination be filled after the
49 making, in the manner provided in this section, of a determination of
50 the order in which the names of candidates for the office or position
51 are to be printed, to the extent practicable, the name of the candidate
52 designated or nominated to fill such vacancy shall be printed in the
53 place so determined for the original candidate.
54 [5.] 4. The titles of public offices shall appear on ballots for
55 primary elections in the same consecutive order that they will appear on
56 the general election ballot. The titles of the party positions shall
A. 4094 7
1 appear in the following order: member of state committee, assembly
2 district leader, associate assembly district leader, members of county
3 committee in the city of New York, delegate or delegates to conventions,
4 alternate delegate or delegates to conventions, and members of county
5 committee in counties outside of the city of New York. Where, pursuant
6 to the rules of the county committee, the party position involved is
7 that of assembly district leader or associate assembly district leader
8 for a part of an assembly district, such part shall be so indicated in
9 the title on the ballot.
10 [6.] 5. (a) In cases where a name is added to or removed from the
11 ballot by court order too late to make a complete adjustment to these
12 requirements feasible, the name may be added at the end of the list of
13 candidates in all election districts, or removed from the ballot in all
14 election districts without changing the previously arranged order of
15 other names and without invalidating the election. Any inadvertent error
16 in the order of names discovered too late to correct the order of the
17 names on the ballots concerned shall not invalidate an election.
18 (b) Except where a contest or candidate is removed from the ballot by
19 court order too late to make complete compliance with this paragraph
20 feasible, the title of each public office or party position and the
21 names of the candidates for such office or position appearing on any
22 ballot used for primary elections over which the county board of
23 elections has jurisdiction shall appear on such ballot immediately adja-
24 cent to one another, either horizontally or vertically; and no blank
25 spaces shall separate the names of candidates actually running for an
26 office or party position on such ballot, and no blank spaces shall sepa-
27 rate any two such offices or positions which appear on such ballot in
28 the same column or row.
29 [7.] 6. Whenever a county board of elections or the board of elections
30 in the city of New York must conduct a primary election in the respec-
31 tive county or the city of New York in which separate contests for
32 candidates of different genders for the same party position are to be
33 printed upon the ballots, and when rules require these positions be
34 listed separately on the ballot, the respective county board of
35 elections or the board of elections in the city of New York shall deter-
36 mine by lot the order of the various gendered contests. This lottery
37 will be conducted separately for each election that is separated by
38 gender.
39 § 3. Section 2-104 of the election law, subdivision 1 as amended by
40 chapter 260 of the laws of 2021 and subdivision 2 as amended by chapter
41 231 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
42 § 2-104. County committee; creation. 1. The county committee of each
43 party shall be constituted by the election in each election district
44 within such county of at least two members and of such additional
45 members as the rules of the county committee of the party within the
46 county or the statement filed pursuant hereto may provide for such
47 district, proportional to the [party] vote in the district for governor
48 at the last preceding gubernatorial election, or in case the boundaries
49 of such district have been changed or a new district has been created
50 since the last preceding gubernatorial election, proportional to the
51 [party] vote cast for member of assembly or in the event there was no
52 election for member of assembly, then proportional to the number of
53 enrolled voters of such party in such district on the list of enrolled
54 voters last published by the board of elections, excluding voters in
55 inactive status; provided that each party which nominated such candidate
56 for such office shall receive the same proportion. In a county in which
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1 no additional members are provided for by the rules of the county
2 committee or the statement filed pursuant hereto the voting power of
3 each member shall be in proportion to such [party] vote or, if the
4 election district which such member represents was created or changed
5 since the last election for member of assembly, proportional to such
6 party enrollment. In a county in which additional members are so
7 provided for, on the basis of the [party] vote or enrollment in election
8 districts within such county, each member shall have one vote. Each
9 member of a county committee shall be an enrolled voter of the party
10 residing in the county and the assembly district from which or in the
11 assembly district containing the election district in which such member
12 is elected except that a member of a county committee who, as a result
13 of an alteration of assembly district lines, no longer resides within
14 such assembly district may continue to serve for the balance of the term
15 to which [he was] they were elected.
16 2. If such committee or a state convention of the party shall provide
17 by rule for representation by gender on such committee, the rules of
18 such committee relative to additional members, either from election
19 districts or at large, shall be formulated and applied in such manner
20 that the whole membership shall be divided among genders as provided by
21 the rules of such committee. When any such rule provides for such repre-
22 sentation, the designating petitions and primary ballots shall list
23 candidates for such party positions separately by gender marker. In
24 providing for such representation, such committee shall establish rules
25 that provide for the ability of individuals who do not exclusively iden-
26 tify as a binary gender to serve as members and which respect individ-
27 uals' gender identity.
28 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
29 a county committee of a party shall be legally constituted if twenty-
30 five per centum of the [committeemen] committee members required to be
31 elected in such county, as provided in subdivision one of this section,
32 have been elected.
33 § 4. Section 6-124 of the election law, as amended by chapter 876 of
34 the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
35 § 6-124. Conventions; judicial. A judicial district convention shall
36 be constituted by the election at the preceding primary of delegates and
37 alternate delegates, if any, from each assembly district or, if an
38 assembly district shall contain all or part of two or more counties and
39 if the rules of the party shall so provide, separately from the part of
40 such assembly district contained within each such county. The number of
41 delegates and alternates, if any, shall be determined by party rules,
42 but the number of delegates shall be substantially in accordance with
43 the ratio, which the number of votes cast for the [party] candidate for
44 the office of governor, [on the line or column of the party] at the last
45 preceding election for such office, in any unit of representation, bears
46 to the total vote cast at such election for such candidate [on such line
47 or column] in the entire state; provided that each party which nominated
48 such candidate for such office shall receive the same proportion. The
49 number of alternates from any district shall not exceed the number of
50 delegates therefrom. The delegates certified to have been elected as
51 such, in the manner provided in this chapter, shall be conclusively
52 entitled to their seats, rights and votes as delegates to such conven-
53 tion. When a duly elected delegate does not attend the convention, [his]
54 their place shall be taken by one of the alternates, if any, to be
55 substituted in [his] their place, in the order of the vote received by
56 each such alternate as such vote appears upon the certified list and if
A. 4094 9
1 an equal number of votes were cast for two or more such alternates; the
2 order in which such alternates shall be substituted shall be determined
3 by lot forthwith upon the convening of the convention. If there shall
4 have been no contested election for alternate, substitution shall be in
5 the order in which the name of such alternate appears upon the certified
6 list, and if no alternates shall have been elected or if no alternates
7 appear at such convention, then the delegates present from the same
8 district shall elect a person to fill the vacancy.
9 § 5. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
10 law and shall apply to all elections which occur on or after such date.
