STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5147
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2015
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Introduced by M. of A. QUART -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to requiring each county
board of elections to provide pens at polling sites
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative intent. The legislature hereby declares that in
2 order to have a well-functioning democracy, it is necessary that boards
3 of elections successfully supply every poll site in the state with the
4 required materials to conduct an election. Voters whose poll sites lack
5 these basic necessities are, in practice, disenfranchised because their
6 poll site in unprepared.
7 The legislature further finds that many poll sites in counties that
8 use electronic voting systems require a ballot to be marked using a pen
9 before being scanned and counted. However, each election day, legisla-
10 tors hear complaints from constituents about poll sites without pens.
11 When voters arrive at these poll sites to discover that the board of
12 elections has not provided enough working pens, many are deterred from
13 voting at all. A lack of the most basic of supplies at poll sites is
14 unacceptable.
15 Clearly, boards of elections are either unable or unwilling to predict
16 and provide an adequate supply of working pens for poll sites. Thus, it
17 falls to the legislature to ensure that boards of elections implement
18 procedures to ensure that every eligible voter who goes to the polls has
19 access to the tools needed to cast a ballot.
20 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-108 to
21 read as follows:
22 § 8-108. Supplies requirement. 1. As used in this section, the term
23 "pen" shall mean an instrument used to apply ink to a surface for the
24 purpose of writing. To qualify as a pen for the purposes of this
25 section, such instrument must be filled with ink.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08324-01-5
A. 5147 2
1 2. Each county board of elections shall supply each polling site with
2 a minimum of one pen for every ten registered voters assigned to that
3 polling site.
4 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.