Amd §§174 & 175, rpld §§175-a & 175-b, §176 sub 8, add §§175-a & 175-b, Town L
Requires fire district elections occur on the same day as school board elections and requires that such voting day follows similar procedures to early voting; requires such election be overseen by the local county board of elections.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10817
IN ASSEMBLY
April 1, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JENSEN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to requiring fire district
elections occur on the same day as school board elections and requires
such elections be run by the county board of elections; and to repeal
certain provisions of such law relating thereto
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 174 of the town law, as amended by
2 chapter 401 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
3 2. The first election of fire district officers shall be held on the
4 [second] third Tuesday in [December] May next succeeding the establish-
5 ment or consolidation of such fire district; provided, however, that if
6 such district be established at a time subsequent to the first day of
7 October in any year, the first election of fire district officers shall
8 be held on the [second] third Tuesday in the month of [December] May of
9 the next succeeding calendar year. At the first annual election of fire
10 district officers, five district commissioners shall be elected and a
11 treasurer. Every registered fire district voter shall be entitled to
12 cast one vote for each vacant position on a board of fire commissioners
13 to be filled in the first annual election of fire district officers. The
14 person receiving the greatest number of votes for the office of fire
15 commissioner shall be elected for a term of five years; the person
16 receiving the second highest number of votes shall be elected for a term
17 of four years; the person receiving the third highest number of votes
18 shall be elected for a term of three years; the person receiving the
19 fourth highest number of votes shall be elected for a term of two years
20 and the person receiving the fifth highest number of votes shall be
21 elected for a term of one year. In the event that two persons shall
22 receive the same number of votes the terms of office shall be decided by
23 lot. At each subsequent election of fire district officers a commission-
24 er shall be elected for the full term of five years. In the event that
25 two or more persons receive the same number of votes thereat, a special
26 election between the tying parties receiving the highest number of votes
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14426-02-6
A. 10817 2
1 to fill the vacancy shall be held within forty-five days after such
2 election. The fire district treasurer shall be elected for a term of
3 three years. The fire district secretary shall be appointed by the fire
4 district commissioners and shall serve for a period of one year. The
5 fire district secretary in office at the time such election is held
6 shall immediately notify the officers elected of their election and that
7 an organization meeting will be held on the day specified in said
8 notice, which shall not be later than the fifteenth day of January next
9 ensuing. At such organization meeting, the treasurer shall preside until
10 such time as a chairperson of the board of fire commissioners shall be
11 chosen, but such treasurer shall not be entitled to a vote at such meet-
12 ing. Further, such election shall be handled by the county board of
13 elections.
14 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 175 of the town law, as amended by chap-
15 ter 347 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
16 1. An annual election shall be held in each fire district on the
17 [second] third Tuesday in [December] May, except that in the Ocean Bay
18 Park fire district, the Lonelyville fire district, the Davis Park fire
19 district, the Cherry Grove fire district, the Fair Harbor fire district
20 and the Fire Island Pines fire district, Suffolk county, such annual
21 election shall be held on the second Tuesday in July, except that in the
22 town of Salisbury, Herkimer county, such annual election shall be held
23 on the Tuesday next succeeding the first Monday in November from six
24 o'clock in the morning until nine o'clock in the evening and except that
25 in the Belfast fire district, Allegany county, such annual election
26 shall be held on the first Tuesday in December. The board of fire
27 commissioners shall give notice thereof by the publication of a notice
28 once in one or more newspapers having a general circulation in the
29 district. The first publication of such notice shall be not less than
30 twenty-seven days and not more than thirty-four days prior to the date
31 of such election. Such notice shall specify the time when and the place
32 where such election will be held, the officers to be elected thereat and
33 their terms of office, and the hours during which the polls will be open
34 for the receipt of ballots. The [secretary of such fire district] county
35 board of elections shall, establish where such election takes place;
36 prepare the ballots for all elections of fire district officers and the
37 polls shall remain open for the receipt thereof at all elections of fire
38 district officers from [six] seven o'clock in the [evening] morning
39 until nine o'clock in the evening [and such additional consecutive hours
40 prior thereto as the board of fire commissioners of such district may
41 have determined and specified in the notice thereof. The board of fire
42 commissioners shall designate a resident fire district elector, who
43 shall be a registered voter of the town, to act as chairman of any
44 election of said district and shall designate not less than two nor more
45 than four resident fire district electors, who shall be registered
46 voters of the town to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks at
47 such elections. No elective officer of the fire district shall serve as
48 such chairman or as an election inspector or ballot clerk. The board of
49 fire commissioners may adopt a resolution providing that such chairman,
50 election inspectors and ballot clerks shall be paid for their respective
51 services at any such annual election or at any special election of the
52 fire district. Such resolution, if adopted, shall fix the amount of such
53 compensation, as follows: if the hours during which the polls will be
54 open for the receipt of ballots are from six o'clock in the evening
55 until nine o'clock in the evening, a sum not to exceed seventy dollars
56 for each such official; if additional consecutive hours prior to six
A. 10817 3
1 o'clock in the evening are determined and specified in the notice of
2 election, a sum not to exceed one hundred dollars for each such offi-
3 cial.]; establish the method and manner of submission, preparation and
4 provision of ballots and ballot labels, the use of voting machines,
5 confirming the qualifications of voters, correcting registers, and
6 conducting the election, canvassing the result and making and filing the
7 returns, and all other procedures with reference to the submission of
8 any vote, shall be in the same method and manner used as used in early
9 voting pursuant to section 8-600 of the election law, or as close as
10 practical, as determined by the county board of elections. The local
11 board of elections shall appoint such poll workers as deemed necessary
12 by such board and shall prescribe their duties, titles, ranks and salary
13 in accordance with the provisions set forth in section 3-300 of the
14 election law.
15 § 3. Section 175-a of the town law is REPEALED and a new section
16 175-a is added to read as follows:
17 § 175-a. Registration for voters. The registration of voters for any
18 annual fire district election shall be consistent with article five of
19 the election law.
20 § 4. Section 175-b of the town law is REPEALED and a new section 175-b
21 is added to read as follows:
22 § 175-b. Absentee ballots for fire district elections; special
23 provisions. The county board of elections in any fire district in which
24 officers are elected, shall provide for absentee ballots for fire
25 district elections, in accordance with the provisions of the election
26 law.
27 § 5. Subdivision 8 of section 176 of the town law is REPEALED.
28 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.
