Bill Text: NY A00452 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to specification of objections to designating petitions, independent nominating petitions, certificates of nomination or ballot access documents; standardizes requirements for specification of objections by removing authority of local boards of election to make their own rules.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-01-13 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [A00452 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A00452-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 452 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. STECK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to specification of objections to designating petitions, independent nominating petitions, certificates of nomination or ballot access documents The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6-154 of the election law, subdivision 2 as amended 2 by chapter 248 of the laws of 1981, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 6-154. Nominations and designations; objections to. 1. Any petition 4 or certificate filed with the officer or board charged with the duty of 5 receiving it shall be presumptively valid if it is in proper form and 6 appears to bear the requisite number of signatures, authenticated in a 7 manner prescribed by this chapter. 8 2. Written objections to any certificate of designation or nomination 9 or to a nominating or designating petition or a petition for opportunity 10 to ballot for public office or to a certificate of acceptance, a certif- 11 icate of authorization, a certificate of declination or a certificate of 12 substitution relating thereto may be filed by any voter registered to 13 vote for such public office and to a designating petition or a petition 14 for opportunity to ballot for party position or a certificate of substi- 15 tution, a certificate of acceptance or a certificate of declination 16 relating thereto by any voter enrolled to vote for such party position. 17 Such objections shall be filed with the officer or board with whom the 18 original petition or certificate is filed within three days after the 19 filing of the petition or certificate to which objection is made, or 20 within three days after the last day to file such a certificate, if no 21 such certificate is filed except that if any person nominated by an 22 independent nominating petition, is nominated as a party candidate for 23 the same office by a party certificate filed, or a party nomination made EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03570-01-9A. 452 2 1 after the filing of such petition, the written objection to such peti- 2 tion may be filed within three days after the filing of such party 3 certificate or the making of such party nomination. When such an 4 objection is filed, specifications of the grounds of the objections 5 shall be filed within six days thereafter with the same officer or board 6 and if specifications are not timely filed, the objection shall be null 7 and void. [Each such officer or board is hereby empowered to make rules8in reference to the filing and disposition of such petition, certif-9icate, objections and specifications.] 10 3. (a) Any person filing general objections to any designating peti- 11 tion, independent nominating petition or certificate of nomination or 12 ballot access document who thereafter files specifications of his or her 13 objections to any such document shall do so in accordance with the 14 provisions of this subdivision. All such specifications shall substan- 15 tially comply with the following requirements: 16 (i) for specifications relating to any petition, the volume number, 17 page number, and line number of any signature objected to on any peti- 18 tion shall be set forth in detail. In addition, any portion of any peti- 19 tion or any signature line or witness statement objected to shall be 20 specifically identified and reasons given for any such objection; 21 (ii) the total number of signatures objected to shall be set forth and 22 all objections relating to a single signature line should be grouped 23 together; and 24 (iii) symbols and/or abbreviations may be used to set forth 25 objections, provided that a sheet explaining the meaning of any such 26 symbols and/or abbreviations is attached to the specifications. 27 (b) No specifications of objections to any petition, certificate of 28 nomination or ballot access document will be considered unless the 29 objector filing the specifications personally delivers or mails by over- 30 night mail a duplicate copy of the specification to each candidate for 31 public office named on the petition. Objections and specifications to a 32 petition for an opportunity to ballot must be served on the persons 33 named as the committee to receive notices. In the case of a petition 34 containing candidates for party positions, service of the specifications 35 shall be made on either the named candidates or the first person named 36 on the petition's committee to fill vacancies. Service shall be made on 37 or before the date of filing of any specifications with the officer or 38 board. Proof of service shall accompany the specifications or be 39 received by the end of two business days following the filing of the 40 specifications, whichever is later. 41 4. (a) Such officer or board shall give notice by overnight mail to 42 the objector and the candidate named in such petition or certificate of 43 the date or dates on which such officer or board shall consider the 44 specifications filed, and board findings, the result of and research of 45 the specifications, and shall make a determination as to the sufficiency 46 of such petition or certificate and shall provide the objector and 47 candidate or their agent or agents an opportunity to be heard as to the 48 validity of each specific objection. Copies of the board's research of 49 specifications shall accompany such notice. Such opportunity may be by 50 written submission or oral presentation in the discretion of such offi- 51 cer or board. Such officer or board shall not deny the objector or the 52 candidate or their agent or agents an opportunity to be present when the 53 determination as to validity is made. 54 (b) For objections and specifications made to ballot access documents 55 filed with the state board of elections, the provisions of paragraph (a) 56 of this subdivision shall apply. However, the opportunity to be heard asA. 452 3 1 to the validity or invalidity of such specifications shall be provided 2 in a hearing which precedes any meeting of the state board's commission- 3 ers at which determinations will be rendered. 4 5. When [a] any determination is made that a certificate or petition 5 is sufficient or insufficient, such officer or board shall give notice 6 of the determination forthwith by mail to each candidate named in the 7 petition or certificate, and, if the determination is made upon speci- 8 fied objections, the objector shall be notified; provided that any such 9 candidate or objector may designate an attorney or agent to receive any 10 such notice and/or determination on his or her behalf. Any such desig- 11 nation shall be in writing and include the name, address, email and 12 telephone number of any such attorney or agent, and any such attorney 13 and/or agent shall be eligible to represent any such candidate or objec- 14 tor in any proceeding relating to the specifications. 15 6. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require an objection 16 or hearing if the board of elections by majority vote determines that a 17 filing does not meet the criteria of subdivision one of this section to 18 be presumptively valid. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 20 have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment 21 and/or repeal of any rules or regulations necessary for the implementa- 22 tion of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made on or 23 before such date.