STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6245
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 7, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law and the village law, in relation to
requiring village elections on the same date as general elections take
place on even numbered years
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 15-104 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 248 of the laws of 1983, paragraph b as amended by
3 chapter 565 of the laws of 1998, paragraph c as amended by chapter 359
4 of the laws of 1989, and paragraph d as amended by chapter 684 of the
5 laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
6 1. a. The general village election shall be held on the third Tuesday
7 in March except in any village which presently elects, or hereafter
8 adopts a proposition to elect, its officers on a date other than the
9 third Tuesday in March. Villages that have elections on the day of the
10 general election in November shall hold such elections on the day of the
11 general election in even numbered years.
12 b. In any village in which the general village election, or a special
13 village election for officers pursuant to this chapter, is scheduled to
14 be held on the third Tuesday of March, for any year in which the seven-
15 teenth day of March shall fall on such Tuesday, the board of trustees of
16 such village shall provide, by the resolution prescribed by paragraph b
17 of subdivision three of this section, that such election shall be held
18 on the eighteenth day of March. Any provision of a resolution adopted
19 pursuant to this subdivision shall not otherwise alter the political
20 calendar for any such election, which shall continue to be computed from
21 the third Tuesday of March. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivi-
22 sion five of this section, any provision of a resolution adopted pursu-
23 ant to this subdivision shall be effective only if such provision is
24 specifically published as provided by this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00941-01-5
S. 6245 2
1 c. The board of trustees of a village may adopt a resolution, subject
2 to a permissive referendum as provided in article nine of the village
3 law, providing that village elections shall be conducted by the board of
4 elections. The board of trustees of a village which has adopted such a
5 resolution and which is wholly in one county may also adopt a resolution
6 providing that village elections shall occur on the day of the general
7 election in even numbered years provided that all the election districts
8 contained within such village are wholly within such village. Upon
9 approval of such a resolution by the board of trustees and, if requested
10 by petition, approval by a vote of the qualified voters of the village,
11 the county board of elections shall conduct all village elections
12 including in those cases in which such village elections are held on the
13 day of the general election, primary elections, if any. Such resolution
14 shall be effective for all elections in such village held more than six
15 months after such resolution is adopted, provided however, that a resol-
16 ution providing that village elections shall occur on the day of the
17 general election in even numbered years, shall be effective for such
18 elections in such village for which the primary election is held more
19 than six months after such resolution is adopted.
20 d. Except as otherwise provided by law, to be elected in a village
21 election, a candidate must receive more votes than any other candidate
22 for the office. In the event of a tie at a village election, a run-off
23 election shall be conducted pursuant to the provisions of section 15-126
24 of this article; provided, however, that if all candidates receiving an
25 equal number of votes agree to waive a run-off election, the election
26 shall be determined according to the provisions of paragraph d of subdi-
27 vision two of section 15-126 of this article.
28 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 7 of section 3-302 of the village law
29 is amended to read as follows:
30 a. The board of trustees of any village which has provided that the
31 terms of office of all trustees, or the terms of office of mayor and all
32 trustees shall be four years, may, subject to permissive referendum,
33 adopt a separate resolution or local law providing that general village
34 elections shall be held biennially in the odd numbered years or in the
35 even numbered years, as they shall determine, or may include in any
36 resolution or local law providing that the terms of office of all trus-
37 tees, or the terms of office of mayor and all trustees shall be four
38 years, a provision that general village elections shall be held bienni-
39 ally in the odd numbered years or in the even numbered years; provided,
40 however, that such general village elections held on the day of the
41 general election shall be held on even numbered years. No such resol-
42 ution or local law, however, shall become effective within thirty days
43 prior to a general village election.
44 § 3. Subdivision 8 of section 9-910 of the village law is amended to
45 read as follows:
46 8. No special election shall be held hereunder in the [month] months
47 of March, October, or November.
48 § 4. The third undesignated paragraph of section 16-1600 of the
49 village law is amended to read as follows:
50 A proposition for the reincorporation of a village under this article
51 shall not be submitted at a special election during the months of Febru-
52 ary [or], March, October, or November.
53 § 5. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special or local
54 law, charter, code, ordinance, resolution, rule or regulation to the
55 contrary, a village elected official, subject to the requirements of
56 sections one, two, three, or four of this act, elected and serving their
S. 6245 3
1 term as of the first of January next succeeding the date on which it
2 shall have become a law shall complete their full term as established by
3 law. Provided, however, that if the completion of such full term
4 results in the need for an election in an odd-numbered year after the
5 first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become
6 a law, the village official elected at such election shall have their
7 term expire as if such official were elected at the previous general
8 election held in an even-numbered year.
9 § 6. Severability. If any provision of this act is held invalid or
10 ineffective in whole or in part or inapplicable to any person or situ-
11 ation, such invalidity or holding shall not affect, impair or invalidate
12 other provisions or applications of this act that can be given effect
13 without the invalid provision or application, and all other provisions
14 thereof shall nevertheless be separately and fully effective, and to
15 this end the provisions of this act are declared to be severable.
16 § 7. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
17 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
18 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces-
19 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
20 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
