Provides that no primary or secondary school shall be required to be open for voter registration or used as a polling place when school is in session or minors are scheduled to be present.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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4449
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 15, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. KAMINSKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to primary and secondary
schools being used as polling places
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 4-104 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 180 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. Every board of elections shall, in consultation with each city,
5 town and village, designate the polling places in each election district
6 in which the meetings for the registration of voters, and for any
7 election may be held. The board of trustees of each village in which
8 general and special village elections conducted by the board of
9 elections are held at a time other than the time of a general election
10 shall submit such a list of polling places for such village elections to
11 the board of elections. A polling place may be located in a building
12 owned by a religious organization or used by it as a place of worship.
13 If such a building is designated as a polling place, it shall not be
14 required to be open for voter registration on any Saturday if this is
15 contrary to the religious beliefs of the religious organization. In such
16 a situation, the board of elections shall designate an alternate
17 location to be used for voter registration. A polling place may be
18 located in a building utilized for primary or secondary school instruc-
19 tion. If such a building is designated as a polling place, it shall not
20 be required to be open for voter registration or as a polling place if
21 the school is in session and minors are scheduled to be present on such
22 day. In such a situation, the board of elections shall designate an
23 alternate location to be used for voter registration and as a polling
24 place. Such polling places must be designated by May first, of each
25 year, and shall be effective for one year thereafter. Such a list
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08561-01-7
S. 4449 2
1 required to be submitted by a village board of trustees must be submit-
2 ted at least four months before each general village election and shall
3 be effective until four months before the subsequent general village
4 election. No place in which a business licensed to sell alcoholic bever-
5 ages for on premises consumption is conducted on any day of local regis-
6 tration or of voting shall be so designated. If, within the discretion
7 of the board of elections a particular polling place so designated is
8 subsequently found to be unsuitable or unsafe or should circumstances
9 arise that make a designated polling place unsuitable or unsafe, then
10 the board of elections is empowered to select an alternative meeting
11 place. In the city of New York, the board of elections shall designate
12 such polling places and alternate registration places if the polling
13 place cannot be used for voter registration on Saturdays.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.