Bill Text: NY A04686 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Decreases the number of signatures for independent nominating petitions of candidates for public office; now 2.5%.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Passed) 2021-03-29 - signed chap.90 [A04686 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A04686-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4686

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 4, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. BURGOS -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Election Law

        AN  ACT  to  amend the election law, in relation to the number of signa-
          tures for independent nominating  petitions;  and  providing  for  the
          repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 6-142 of the election law, as amended by chapter 79
     2  of the laws of 1992, subdivision 1 as amended by section 9 of  part  ZZZ
     3  of  chapter  58 of the laws of 2020 and paragraph (d-1) of subdivision 2
     4  as amended by chapter 418 of the laws of 1993, is  amended  to  read  as
     5  follows:
     6    §  6-142.  Independent  nominations; number of signatures. 1. An inde-
     7  pendent nominating petition for candidates to be voted for  by  all  the
     8  voters  of  the  state  must  be  signed by at least forty-five thousand
     9  voters, or one percent of the total number of votes, excluding blank and
    10  void ballots, cast for the office of governor at the last  gubernatorial
    11  election,  whichever  is  less,  of  whom  at least five hundred, or one
    12  percent of enrolled voters, whichever is less, shall reside in  each  of
    13  one-half of the congressional districts of the State.
    14    2. An independent nominating petition for the nomination of candidates
    15  for  an  office  to  be filled by the voters of any other political unit
    16  must be signed by voters numbering [five] two and one-half per centum of
    17  the total number of votes cast for governor at  the  last  gubernatorial
    18  election  in  such unit, excluding blank and void votes, except that not
    19  more than [three thousand five hundred] one thousand seven hundred fifty
    20  signatures shall be required upon any such petition for any office to be
    21  filled in any political subdivision of the state wholly outside the city
    22  of New York, and not more than the following numbers of signatures shall
    23  be required upon any such petition  for  the  following  public  offices
    24  respectively:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09374-04-1
        A. 4686                             2

     1    (a)  for  any  office  to  be  filled in any county or portion thereof
     2  outside the city of New York, [one thousand five hundred] seven  hundred
     3  fifty;
     4    (b) notwithstanding any provision of the New York city charter provid-
     5  ing  for greater thresholds to the contrary, for any office to be filled
     6  by all the voters of the city of New York, [seven thousand five hundred]
     7  three thousand seven hundred fifty;
     8    (b-1) notwithstanding any provision  of  the  New  York  city  charter
     9  providing  for  greater thresholds to the contrary, for any office to be
    10  filled by all the voters of any two counties in such city,  [four  thou-
    11  sand] two thousand;
    12    (c) notwithstanding any provision of the New York city charter provid-
    13  ing  for greater thresholds to the contrary, for any office to be filled
    14  by all the voters of any county or borough in such city, [four thousand]
    15  two thousand;
    16    (d) notwithstanding any provision of the New York city charter provid-
    17  ing for greater thresholds to the contrary, for any office to be  filled
    18  by  all  the  voters  of  any  municipal court district, [three thousand
    19  signatures] one thousand five hundred;
    20    (d-1) notwithstanding any provision  of  the  New  York  city  charter
    21  providing  for  greater thresholds to the contrary, for any office to be
    22  filled in the city of New York by all the voters  of  any  city  council
    23  district, [two thousand seven hundred] one thousand three hundred fifty;
    24    (e) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any congressional
    25  district,  [three  thousand  five  hundred]  one  thousand seven hundred
    26  fifty;
    27    (f) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any state senato-
    28  rial district, [three thousand] one thousand five hundred;
    29    (g) for any office to be filled by  all  the  voters  of  an  assembly
    30  district, [one thousand five hundred] seven hundred fifty;
    31    (h) for the office of trustee of the Long Island Power Authority, five
    32  hundred;
    33    (i)  for any office to be filled by the voters of any political subdi-
    34  vision contained within another political subdivision except  as  herein
    35  otherwise  provided, not to exceed the number of signatures required for
    36  the larger subdivision.
    37    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    38  deemed repealed December 31, 2021.