Assemblymember Jonathan Jacobson (D-104) passed legislation to prohibit conflicts of interest at Boards of Elections (A1244). The bill prohibits specific financial conflicts of interest for board employees and forbids them from working at the Board of Elections if they are candidates in an election run by that board.

The bill has three sections:

1. Board employees cannot work for or have a financial interest in a company that sells equipment to the Board of Elections, such as voting machines, printers and poll books.
2. Board employees cannot work for or have a financial interest in a company that provides services, such as mailing, printing, advertising, and consulting, to a candidate whose election is overseen by the board.
3. Board employees cannot remain paid employees if they are running for public office. Any board employee who runs for public office must take an unpaid leave of absence from the board. The leave of absence must begin as soon as an employee files petitions if there is a primary, or at least 90 days before the General Election in November if there is no primary.

“Our democracy is under attack, often based on conspiracy theories. These attacks have undermined the public’s confidence in our elections process,” Jacobson said. “For our democracy to work, the public must have faith that Boards of Elections are acting in the best interest of the public and are fairly administering elections. This bill will help restore that faith.”

Violations of the law can lead to disciplinary action from the Board of Elections, including the employee’s removal.

“These commonsense prohibitions on conflicts of interest at Boards of Elections might seem obvious, but our current laws are not protecting the public,” Jacobson said.

In the State Senate, the bill was sponsored by Sen. Shelley Mayer (D-37). It is now awaiting Governor Hochul’s signature.