Assemblyman Phil Palmesano (R,C,I-Corning) today stood with the New York State Association of Counties (NYSAC) and several local governments to oppose another unfunded mandate. The Assembly majority passed a one-house bill that would require counties to open polling sites for a total of 15 days before the normal election day, which would add several million dollars in costs to already cash-strapped local governments.

“This bill is another example of an unfunded mandate being forced down the throats of local governments by bureaucrats in Albany,” said Palmesano. “The extra costs associated with staffing polling locations, keeping them open longer and disrupting the operations of the facilities that act as polling locations, such as schools, senior centers, fire stations and so on are projected to be immense. If the majority believes this measure to be a necessity, it should take on the responsibility of finding a way to fund it and not abdicate that responsibility to already over-extended local governments.”

The bill would require every county to designate five polling locations to be open from the third Thursday before a general election until the Thursday just prior to election day, increasing the total number of voting days from one to sixteen. The polling sites must be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.

In a survey conducted by NYSAC, 28 of New York’s 62 counties reported costs totaling more than $2.6 million, several counties noting their cost estimates to be conservative. When adding the potential costs of the remaining 34 counties that did not respond to the survey, the full cost of this measure could far exceed the $5 million cost many have projected to implement the program.

“There are several states that have instituted this practice and statistics show that they have not seen a meaningful increase in turnout,” said Palmesano. “Rather than adding costly burdens to our local governments and taxpayers, we should look for ways to improve the process without weighing them down with more bureaucratic regulations.”

Of the counties in the 132nd Assembly District that responded to the survey conducted by NYSAC concerning the costs of implementation, Chemung estimated a cost of $70,200, Schuyler estimated $24,885, Steuben estimated $62,706 and Yates estimated $18,500.