Bill Text: NY A07469 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to the types of voting machines used in certain town elections.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-07-20 - signed chap.170 [A07469 Detail]
Download: New_York-2011-A07469-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 7469 2011-2012 Regular Sessions I N A S S E M B L Y May 5, 2011 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SCHIMEL -- read once and referred to the Commit- tee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the town law, in relation to the types of voting machines used in certain elections; and providing for the repeal of certain 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 212 of the town law, as amended by chapter 421 of 2 the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 3 S 212. Annual election and notice thereof. The district commissioners 4 of such improvement district shall publish at the expense of the 5 district the notice of each election of improvement district commission- 6 ers held pursuant to this article. Such notice shall be published at 7 least once in one or more newspapers having general circulation in the 8 district and the first publication thereof shall be at least twenty days 9 before the day of such election. The notice of annual election shall 10 specify the time when and the place or places where such election shall 11 be held and the hours during which the polls will be open for the 12 receipt of ballots. Notice of such election shall also be posted on the 13 websites of the district and the town in which the district is located, 14 if such websites are maintained, on the signboard of the town, and 15 conspicuously posted in three or more designated public locations within 16 the district, on or about the day on which such notice is published. 17 Such election shall be held at a suitable place or places within the 18 district designated by the district commissioners and the polls shall 19 remain open from six o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock in the 20 evening and such additional consecutive hours prior thereto as the 21 district commissioners may determine and specify in the notice of such 22 election. The board of commissioners of such district shall designate 23 for each district election not less than two nor more than four resident 24 taxpayers to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks for each EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD10730-04-1 A. 7469 2 1 designated polling place. The board of commissioners shall fix the 2 compensation of such election inspectors and ballot clerks in an amount 3 not to exceed ten dollars per hour each for every hour or part thereof 4 of such service and such compensation shall be a charge against the 5 district. The board of commissioners shall cause to be prepared the 6 ballots for all elections, and may authorize the use of voting machines 7 [approved by the secretary of state], INCLUDING LEVER VOTING MACHINES, 8 at any annual or special election of the district. WHEN USING VOTING 9 MACHINES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SEVEN OF THE ELECTION LAW, SUCH VOTING 10 MACHINES SHALL BE USED in accordance with THE PROVISIONS CONTAINED IN 11 article nine of the election law. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN 12 THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO 13 MAINTAIN THE CARE, CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF LEVER VOTING MACHINES. After 14 the polls shall have been closed at any election, the election inspec- 15 tors and ballot clerks at each polling place shall immediately canvass 16 the ballots cast and shall publicly announce the result of the vote at 17 that polling place. Within twenty-four hours the chairman of the board 18 of commissioners, election inspectors and ballot clerks shall execute 19 and file a certificate of the result of the canvass with the board of 20 commissioners of the improvement district and with the clerk of the town 21 in which said district is located. 22 S 2. Subdivision 29 of section 176 of the town law, as added by chap- 23 ter 568 of the laws of 1949, is amended to read as follows: 24 29. May authorize the use of voting machines, INCLUDING LEVER VOTING 25 MACHINES, at any annual or special election held within the fire 26 district [and]. WHEN USING VOTING MACHINES AS DESCRIBED IN ARTICLE SEVEN 27 OF THE ELECTION LAW, such voting [machine] MACHINES shall be used in 28 accordance with the provisions contained in article nine of the election 29 law. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL BE CONSTRUED 30 TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO MAINTAIN THE CARE, CUSTODY OR 31 CONTROL OF LEVER VOTING MACHINES. 32 S 3. Section 212 of the town law, as amended by chapter 421 of the 33 laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows: 34 S 212. Annual election and notice thereof. The district commissioners 35 of such improvement district shall publish at the expense of the 36 district the notice of each election of improvement district commission- 37 ers held pursuant to this article. Such notice shall be published at 38 least once in one or more newspapers having general circulation in the 39 district and the first publication thereof shall be at least twenty days 40 before the day of such election. The notice of annual election shall 41 specify the time when and the place or places where such election shall 42 be held and the hours during which the polls will be open for the 43 receipt of ballots. Notice of such election shall also be posted on the 44 websites of the district and the town in which the district is located, 45 if such websites are maintained, on the signboard of the town, and 46 conspicuously posted in three or more designated public locations within 47 the district, on or about the day on which such notice is published. 48 Such election shall be held at a suitable place or places within the 49 district designated by the district commissioners and the polls shall 50 remain open from six o'clock in the evening until nine o'clock in the 51 evening and such additional consecutive hours prior thereto as the 52 district commissioners may determine and specify in the notice of such 53 election. The board of commissioners of such district shall designate 54 for each district election not less than two nor more than four resident 55 taxpayers to act as election inspectors and ballot clerks for each 56 designated polling place. The board of commissioners shall fix the A. 7469 3 1 compensation of such election inspectors and ballot clerks in an amount 2 not to exceed ten dollars per hour each for every hour or part thereof 3 of such service and such compensation shall be a charge against the 4 district. The board of commissioners shall cause to be prepared the 5 ballots for all elections, and may authorize the use of voting machines 6 [approved by the secretary of state] at any annual or special election 7 of the district in accordance with article nine of the election law. 8 After the polls shall have been closed at any election, the election 9 inspectors and ballot clerks at each polling place shall immediately 10 canvass the ballots cast and shall publicly announce the result of the 11 vote at that polling place. Within twenty-four hours the chairman of the 12 board of commissioners, election inspectors and ballot clerks shall 13 execute and file a certificate of the result of the canvass with the 14 board of commissioners of the improvement district and with the clerk of 15 the town in which said district is located. 16 S 4. Subdivisions 12 and 13 of section 213-b of the town law, as added 17 by chapter 400 of the laws of 1985, are amended to read as follows: 18 12. If the inspectors of election shall have received an envelope, and 19 upon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein, the inspectors 20 shall make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing. When the 21 casting of absentee voters' ballots shall have been completed, the 22 inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which have been 23 deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the number of envelopes 24 opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make a separate return 25 thereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters' ballots deposited 26 in the ballot box shall be added to the number of other ballots deposit- 27 ed in the ballot box in order to determine the number of all ballots to 28 be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall then be counted 29 or canvassed by the inspectors of election along with the other ballots 30 cast at such district election, or, where voting machines are used, AS 31 PROVIDED IN SECTION TWO HUNDRED TWELVE OF THIS ARTICLE, shall be added 32 to the votes recorded on such machines. 33 13. The provisions of this section shall apply to absentee ballots at 34 improvement district elections, notwithstanding any other provision of 35 law. The provisions of any other law as they relate to improvement 36 district elections not inconsistent herewith shall apply to the conduct 37 of such elections. PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT NOTHING IN THIS SECTION SHALL 38 BE CONSTRUED TO REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS TO MAINTAIN THE CARE, 39 CUSTODY OR CONTROL OF LEVER VOTING MACHINES. 40 S 5. Subdivisions 4 and 12 of section 175-b of the town law, as 41 amended by chapter 401 of the laws of 1996, are amended to read as 42 follows: 43 4. Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in 44 the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the vote 45 at such election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform 46 to that part of the regular ballot which relates to the election of 47 district members; if the vote of such election shall be by voting 48 machine, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY-NINE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED 49 SEVENTY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE, the absentee ballot shall [conform as 50 closely as possible to the manner in which the names of the candidates 51 appear on the voting machines, except that the absentee ballot shall 52 also contain a space for a write-in or write-ins] BE, AS NEARLY PRACTI- 53 CABLE, IN THE SAME FORM AS THOSE TO BE VOTED IN THE DISTRICT ON ELECTION 54 DAY AND SHALL CONTAIN A SPACE FOR A WRITE-IN OR WRITE-INS. On the back 55 of such absentee ballots shall be printed the words "Official Ballot, 56 Absentee Voter," followed by the words "For Officers of fire district." A. 7469 4 1 12. If the election inspectors shall have received an envelope, and 2 upon opening the same no ballot shall be found therein, the election 3 inspectors shall make a memorandum showing that the ballot is missing. 4 When the casting of absentee voters' ballots shall have been completed, 5 the election inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots which 6 have been deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the number of 7 envelopes opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make a sepa- 8 rate return thereof in duplicate. The number of absentee voters' ballots 9 deposited in the ballot box shall be added to the number of other 10 ballots deposited in the ballot box in order to determine the number of 11 all ballots to be accounted for in the ballot box. Such ballots shall 12 then be counted or canvassed by the election inspectors along with the 13 other ballots cast at such district election, or, where voting machines 14 are used[,] PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION TWENTY-NINE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED 15 SEVENTY-SIX OF THIS ARTICLE, SUCH BALLOTS shall be added to the votes 16 recorded on such machines. 17 S 6. Subdivision 4 of section 175-b of the town law, as amended by 18 chapter 401 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 19 4. Ballots for absentee voters shall be, as nearly as practicable, in 20 the same form as those to be voted at the district election; if the vote 21 at such election shall be by ballot, the absentee ballot shall conform 22 to that part of the regular ballot which relates to the election of 23 district members; if the vote of such election shall be by voting 24 machine, the absentee ballot shall [conform as closely as possible to 25 the manner in which the names of the candidates appear on the voting 26 machines, except that the absentee ballot shall also contain a space for 27 a write-in or write-ins] BE, AS NEARLY PRACTICABLE, IN THE SAME FORM AS 28 THOSE TO BE VOTED IN THE DISTRICT ON ELECTION DAY AND SHALL CONTAIN A 29 SPACE FOR A WRITE-IN OR WRITE-INS. On the back of such absentee ballots 30 shall be printed the words "Official Ballot, Absentee Voter," followed 31 by the words "For Officers of fire district." 32 S 7. This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that 33 sections one, two, four and five of this act shall expire and be deemed 34 repealed December 31, 2012, when upon such date the provisions of 35 sections three and six of this act shall take effect.