STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6901--B
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 20, 2021
___________
Introduced by Sens. MYRIE, RAMOS, GIANARIS, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, MAY,
RIVERA, SALAZAR -- 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 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to including individuals
who do not identify exclusively as a binary gender in eligibility for
party positions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 2-102 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 4. [The state committee may provide by rule for equal representation
5 of the sexes on said committee.] When any [such] rule of the state
6 committee provides for [equal] representation [of the sexes] by gender,
7 the designating petitions and primary ballots shall list candidates for
8 such party positions separately by [sexes] gender marker. In providing
9 for such representation, the state committee shall establish rules that
10 provide for the ability of individuals who do not exclusively identify
11 as a binary gender to run for those positions and which respect individ-
12 uals' gender identity.
13 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 2-104 of the election law, as amended by
14 chapter 234 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
15 2. If[, pursuant to section one of article thirteen of the constitu-
16 tion,] such committee or a state convention of the party shall provide
17 by rule for [equal] representation [of the sexes] by gender on such
18 committee, the rules of such committee relative to additional members,
19 either from election districts or at large, shall be formulated and
20 applied in such manner that the whole membership shall [consist of an
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11362-04-1
S. 6901--B 2
1 even number, equally] be divided [between the sexes] among genders as
2 provided by the rules of such committee. When any such rule provides for
3 [equal] such representation [of the sexes], the designating petitions
4 and primary ballots shall list candidates for such party positions sepa-
5 rately by [sexes] gender marker. In providing for such representation,
6 such committee shall establish rules that provide for the ability of
7 individuals who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to serve
8 as members and which respect individuals' gender identity.
9 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2-110 of the election law, as amended by
10 chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
11 2. In the city of New York there shall be the party positions of
12 assembly district leaders or, if the rules of the county committee shall
13 so provide, one assembly district leader and one associate assembly
14 district leader. Outside the city of New York there shall be such posi-
15 tions when the rules of the county committee shall so provide. Such
16 leaders shall be elected at primary elections as herein provided, within
17 every county in such city for each assembly district, or for each part
18 of an assembly district within such county as may be designated for the
19 purpose in the rules of the county committee, and in every county of the
20 state outside of such city where the rules so provide, for such assembly
21 district or part thereof within such county as may be designated in such
22 rules for the purpose. Such assembly district leaders or such assembly
23 district leader and associate assembly district leader shall be of
24 [opposite sexes] different genders, if the rules of the county committee
25 shall so provide, and shall be enrolled voters of the party residing
26 within the assembly district and, if the rules of the county committee
27 shall so provide, within the part of the assembly district for which
28 they are to be elected, and shall be elected at the same primary
29 election and for the same term as members of the county committee. When
30 any such rule provides for [equal] representation [of sexes] by gender,
31 the designating petitions and primary ballots shall list candidates for
32 such party positions separately by [sexes] gender marker. In providing
33 for such representation, the county committee shall establish rules that
34 provide for the ability of individuals who do not exclusively identify
35 as a binary gender to serve as district leader and which respect indi-
36 viduals' gender identity. Each shall perform such duties, powers and
37 functions as the rules of the county committee may prescribe. Vacancies
38 in such positions shall be filled by the members of the county committee
39 within the assembly district or part thereof, as the case may be, until
40 the first primary election following the creation of such vacancy or
41 vacancies for which the period for circulating designating petitions
42 ends at least seven days after the creation of such vacancy or vacan-
43 cies, at which time the successor or successors shall be directly
44 elected as herein provided. Assembly district leaders and associate
45 assembly district leaders shall automatically be members and shall have
46 the right to participate and vote in meetings of the county committee or
47 any subcommittee thereof. The county committee may provide by its rules
48 that the members of the state committee, elected in accordance with the
49 provisions of this chapter, shall possess the duties, powers and func-
50 tions of an assembly district leader or an associate assembly district
51 leader. In such event the provisions of this section shall not apply to
52 the members of the state committee but upon [his] their election as a
53 member of the state committee, such person shall be deemed to have also
54 been elected as an assembly district leader or an associate assembly
55 district leader.
S. 6901--B 3
1 § 4. Section 2-122 of the election law, as amended by chapter 177 of
2 the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 2-122. National party conventions; delegates, election. Delegates
4 and alternates to a national convention of a party shall be elected from
5 congressional districts, or partly from the state at large and partly
6 from congressional districts, as the rules of the state committee may
7 provide. Such delegates and alternates from the state at large shall be
8 elected by the state committee or by a state convention of the party, as
9 the rules of the state committee shall prescribe. If the rules of a
10 national party provide for [equal] representation [of the sexes] by
11 gender among delegates elected from districts, such district delegates
12 shall be elected separately by [sex] gender. District delegates and
13 alternates to national party conventions and delegates, and alternates,
14 if any, to such a state convention shall be elected at a primary. All
15 delegates and alternates to a national party convention shall be
16 enrolled members of such party. When any such rule provides for [equal]
17 representation [of the sexes] by gender, the designating petitions and
18 primary ballots shall list candidates for such party positions separate-
19 ly by [sex] gender marker. In providing for such representation, the
20 party shall establish rules that provide for the ability of individuals
21 who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to serve as delegates
22 and which respect individuals' gender identity.
23 § 5. Paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section 5-504 of the election
24 law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read
25 as follows:
26 c. The board of elections maintains, as a public record, at the appro-
27 priate office of the board, a complete and current alphabetized list of
28 all registered voters, including voters in inactive status, which
29 contains next to each voter's name at least the following information:
30 address, town or city, assembly district where appropriate, election
31 district, registration serial number, party enrollment, date of regis-
32 tration, [sex] gender, date of birth and, if the voter is in inactive
33 status, an indication of that fact.
34 § 6. Subdivision 7 of section 7-116 of the election law, as added by
35 chapter 173 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
36 7. Whenever a county board of elections or the board of elections in
37 the city of New York must conduct a primary election in the respective
38 county or the city of New York in which separate contests for [both male
39 and female] candidates of different genders for the same party position
40 are to be printed upon the ballots, and when rules require these posi-
41 tions be listed separately on the ballot, the respective county board of
42 elections or the board of elections in the city of New York shall deter-
43 mine by lot [whether to first print the contest for the male candidates
44 or the contest for the female candidates. After such determination, the
45 same order shall be used for all ballots printed by the board of
46 elections for the entire county or city of New York and for all contests
47 where there are elections separated by male and female candidates for
48 the same party position.] the order of the various gendered contests.
49 This lottery will be conducted separately for each election that is
50 separated by gender.
51 § 7. Section 3-102 of the election law is amended by adding a new
52 subdivision 18 to read as follows:
53 18. promulgate rules and regulations to provide for the ability of
54 individuals who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to run
55 for positions elected in gendered contests which respect the individ-
56 uals' gender identity. In no case shall the board of elections promul-
S. 6901--B 4
1 gate rules that are inconsistent with a system that requires individuals
2 filing for candidacy to self-identify their gender marker as "M", "F",
3 or "X", requires all candidates to run in a single race, and maintains
4 requirements for gender diversity.
5 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.
