NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6436
SPONSOR: Palmesano TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the county
seat in Steuben county to have at least one polling place designated for
early voting
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to amend L. 2020, Chapter 344 (A. 8610-B),
relating to the designation of poll sites for early voting.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of
section 8-600 of the Election Law to provide that the county seat of
Steuben County may be a designated as an early polling site for the
purposes of such law.
Section two is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Chapter 344 of the laws of 2020 requires each county board of elections
to include at least one early voting site in the municipality with the
highest population in such county based on the latest federal decennial
census. Chapter 344 also provides that, to the extent practicable, if
such municipality has public transportation routes, such polling place
shall be situated along such transportation routes.
In the case of Steuben County, the Town of Bath, which is the largest
municipality in Steuben County, is located in close proximity to the
county seat, Bath. The Steuben County seat, Bath, is also served by
public transportation routes. Additionally, having this polling site
located in the Steuben County Office Building along with the Board of
Elections is both beneficial for voters and instrumental in the effi-
cient use of time, money and resources. Thus, under these special
circumstances, it is appropriate to authorize Steuben County to desig-
nate the county seat, Bath, as an early voting site in compliance with
Chapter 344.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR THE STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
No fiscal implications for the State.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.5087 of 2023-24; held in Election Law A.7402 of 2021
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately
