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A02736 Summary:

BILL NOA02736
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORPaulin
 
COSPNSRLavine, Rosenthal L, Dickens, Seawright, Colton, Gallagher, Burdick, Kelles, Sayegh, Woerner, Septimo, Simon
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Add §6-159, El L
 
Provides for the declination of a designation as a candidate or nomination for a party position if the person designated or nominated has received a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, has been indicted for a crime or has resigned the office for which they are nominated or designated to run for re-election.
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A02736 Actions:

BILL NOA02736
 
01/27/2023referred to election law
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A02736 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A2736
 
SPONSOR: Paulin
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to providing for the declination of a designation as a candidate or nomination for a party position under special circumstances   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: To allow a candidate to voluntarily decline their party's designation or nomination, and be removed from the ballot, if they are diagnosed with a terminal illness, are facing criminal charges, or has resigned the office for which they are nominated or designated to run for re-elec- tion.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section one adds a new section 6-159 to the election law entitled, "Special circumstance declination." This section allows a person desig- nated as a candidate for nomination or for party position, or nominated for an office, to file a signed certificate no later than three business days before the certification of the ballot for an election declining the designation or nomination under the following extraordinary circum- stances: the person has been diagnosed with a terminal illness, indicted for a crime, or has resigned the office for which they are nominated or designated to run for re-election. Section two provides that the certificate of substitution shall be received by the appropriate board of elections not later than two busi- ness days after such declination is received by the board. Section three provides the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Currently, once a certificate of designation or nomination has been filed the only basis for removing a candidate is death, declination or disqualification. A candidate is only permitted to decline a designation/nomination after the filing deadline if they are nominated for a second office or they can decline a nomination on one ballot line in a general election if they are defeated on a different party's line in a primary for the same office. Disqualification is also very narrow and only applies if the candidate does not meet the qualifications for holding office of being 18 years old, a United States citizen, and a resident of New York State. A candidate who is diagnosed with a terminal illness, charged with a crime, or has resigned the office for which they are nominated or desig- nated to run for re-election should be permitted to voluntarily decline the party's designation or nomination and withdraw their name from the ballot to allow a new candidate to be selected. Individuals experiencing these circumstances should be allowed to withdraw from the election and focus on their health or legal challenges. Allowing candidates to decline in these circumstances will also enable voters to cast a ballot that is reflective of the actual candidates in the race.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: A.9947 of 2022, referred to Election Law.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
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A02736 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          2736
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    January 27, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN, LAVINE, L. ROSENTHAL, DICKENS, SEAWRIGHT,
          COLTON, GALLAGHER, BURDICK, KELLES, SAYEGH, WOERNER, SEPTIMO, SIMON --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law, in relation to providing for the
          declination of a designation as a candidate or nomination for a  party
          position under special circumstances
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new  section  6-159
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 6-159. Special circumstance declination. 1. Notwithstanding the date
     4  specified in the notice required pursuant to section 6-144 of this arti-
     5  cle,  a  person  designated  as  a candidate for nomination or for party
     6  position, or nominated for an office, may, in a certificate  signed  and
     7  acknowledged  by him or her, and filed no later than three business days
     8  before the certification of the ballot  for  an  election,  decline  the
     9  designation or nomination only under the following extraordinary circum-
    10  stances:
    11    (a) the person has received a diagnosis of a life-threatening illness;
    12    (b) the person has been indicted for a crime; or
    13    (c) the person has resigned the office for which they are nominated or
    14  designated to run for re-election, for any reason.
    15    2.  The  provisions of this article regarding filling a vacancy when a
    16  designation or nomination is declined shall apply following the creation
    17  of vacancy due to special circumstances as herein provided, except  that
    18  the  certificate  of  substitution  shall be received by the appropriate
    19  board of elections not later than two business days after such  declina-
    20  tion is received by the board.
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD05710-01-3
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