Bill Text: NY A09608 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Relates to early voting; provides that beginning the eighth day prior to any election and ending on and including the second day prior to the election a person duly registered and eligible to vote shall be permitted to vote.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 38-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-17 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [A09608 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A09608-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Relates to early voting; provides that beginning the eighth day prior to any election and ending on and including the second day prior to the election a person duly registered and eligible to vote shall be permitted to vote.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 38-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-04-17 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [A09608 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-A09608-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 9608 IN ASSEMBLY January 26, 2018 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE, CUSICK, BLAKE, SIMON, PAULIN, SEPULVEDA, DINOWITZ, L. ROSENTHAL, LIFTON, FAHY, LUPARDO, ABINANTI, ROZIC, GALEF, COOK, RAMOS, SKOUFIS, CYMBROWITZ, JAFFEE -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. BUCHWALD, LENTOL, MAGEE, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to early voting The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 3-400 of the election law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 9 to read as follows: 3 9. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of this article, 4 election inspectors or poll clerks, if any, at polling places for early 5 voting, shall consist of either board of elections employees who shall 6 be appointed by the commissioners of such board or duly qualified indi- 7 viduals, appointed in the manner set forth in this section. Appointments 8 to the offices of election inspector or poll clerk in each polling place 9 for early voting shall be equally divided between the major political 10 parties. The board of elections shall assign staff and provide the 11 resources they require to ensure wait times at early voting sites do not 12 exceed thirty minutes. 13 § 2. Section 4-117 of the election law is amended by adding a new 14 subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 15 1-a. The notice required by subdivision one of this section shall 16 include the dates, hours and locations of early voting for the general 17 and primary election. The board of elections may satisfy the notice 18 requirement of this subdivision by providing in the notice instructions 19 to obtain the required early voting information from a website of the 20 board of elections and providing a phone number to call for such infor- 21 mation. 22 § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 8-100 of the election law, as amended by 23 chapter 367 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 24 2. Polls shall be open for voting during the following hours: a prima- 25 ry election from twelve o'clock noon until nine o'clock in the evening, 26 except in the city of New York and the counties of Nassau, Suffolk, EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02758-04-8A. 9608 2 1 Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess and Erie, and in such 2 city or county from [six] seven o'clock in the morning until nine 3 o'clock in the evening; the general election from six o'clock in the 4 morning until nine o'clock in the evening; a special election called by 5 the governor pursuant to the public officers law, and, except as other- 6 wise provided by law, every other election, from [six] seven o'clock in 7 the morning until nine o'clock in the evening; early voting hours shall 8 be as provided in section 8-600 of this article. 9 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 8-102 of the election law is amended by 10 adding a new paragraph (k) to read as follows: 11 (k) Voting at each polling place for early voting shall be conducted 12 in a manner consistent with the provisions of this article, with the 13 exception of the tabulation and proclamation of election results which 14 shall be completed according to subdivisions eight and nine of section 15 8-600 of this article. 16 § 5. Section 8-104 of the election law is amended by adding a new 17 subdivision 7 to read as follows: 18 7. This section shall apply on all early voting days as provided for 19 in section 8-600 of this article. 20 § 6. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 8-508 of the election 21 law, as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read 22 as follows: 23 (b) The second section of such report shall be reserved for the board 24 of inspectors to enter the name, address and registration serial number 25 of each person who is challenged on the day of election or on any day in 26 which there is early voting pursuant to section 8-600 of this article, 27 together with the reason for the challenge. If no voters are chal- 28 lenged, the board of inspectors shall enter the words "No Challenges" 29 across the space reserved for such names. In lieu of preparing section 30 two of the challenge report, the board of elections may provide, next to 31 the name of each voter on the computer generated registration list, a 32 place for the inspectors of election to record the information required 33 to be entered in such section two, or provide at the end of such comput- 34 er generated registration list, a place for the inspectors of election 35 to enter such information. 36 § 7. Article 8 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 6 37 to read as follows: 38 TITLE VI 39 EARLY VOTING 40 Section 8-600. Early voting. 41 8-602. State board of elections; powers and duties for early 42 voting. 43 § 8-600. Early voting. 1. Beginning the eighth day prior to any gener- 44 al, primary or special election for any public or party office, and 45 ending on and including the second day prior to such general, primary or 46 special election for such public or party office, persons duly regis- 47 tered and eligible to vote at such election shall be permitted to vote 48 as provided in this title. The board of elections of each county and 49 the city of New York shall establish procedures, subject to approval of 50 the state board of elections, to ensure that persons who vote during the 51 early voting period shall not be permitted to vote subsequently in the 52 same election. 53 2. (a) The board of elections of each county or the city of New York 54 shall designate polling places for early voting in each county, which 55 may include the offices of the board of elections, for persons to vote 56 early pursuant to this section. There shall be so designated at leastA. 9608 3 1 one early voting polling place for every full increment of fifty thou- 2 sand registered voters in each county; provided, however, the number of 3 early voting polling places in a county shall not be required to be 4 greater than seven, and a county with fewer than fifty thousand voters 5 shall have at least one early voting polling place. 6 (b) The board of elections of each county or the city of New York may 7 establish additional polling places for early voting in excess of the 8 minimum number required by this subdivision for the convenience of 9 eligible voters wishing to vote during the early voting period. 10 (c) Notwithstanding the minimum number of early voting poll sites 11 otherwise required by this subdivision, for any primary or special 12 election, upon majority vote of the board of elections, the number of 13 early voting sites may be reduced if the board of elections reasonably 14 determines a lesser number of sites is sufficient to meet the needs of 15 early voters. 16 (d) Polling places for early voting shall be located to ensure, to the 17 extent practicable, that eligible voters have adequate equitable access, 18 taking into consideration population density, travel time to the polling 19 place, proximity to other locations or commonly used transportation 20 routes and such other factors the board of elections of the county or 21 the city of New York deems appropriate. The provisions of section 4-104 22 of this chapter, except subdivisions four and five of such section, 23 shall apply to the designation of polling places for early voting except 24 to the extent such provisions are inconsistent with this section. 25 3. Any person permitted to vote early may do so at any polling place 26 for early voting established pursuant to subdivision two of this section 27 in the county where such voter is registered to vote. Provided, however, 28 (a) if it is impractical to provide each polling place for early voting 29 all appropriate ballots for each election to be voted on in the county, 30 or (b) if permitting such persons to vote early at any polling place 31 established for early voting would make it impractical to ensure that 32 such voter has not previously voted early during such election, the 33 board of elections may designate each polling place for early voting 34 only for those voters registered to vote in a portion of the county to 35 be served by such polling place for early voting, provided that all 36 voters in each county shall have one or more polling places at which 37 they are eligible to vote throughout the early voting period on a 38 substantially equal basis. 39 4. (a) Polls shall be open for early voting for at least eight hours 40 between seven o'clock in the morning and eight o'clock in the evening 41 each week day during the early voting period. 42 (b) At least one polling place for early voting shall remain open 43 until eight o'clock in the evening on at least two week days in each 44 calendar week during the early voting period. If polling places for 45 early voting are limited to voters from certain areas pursuant to subdi- 46 vision three of this section, polling places that remain open until 47 eight o'clock shall be designated such that any person entitled to vote 48 early may vote until eight o'clock in the evening on at least two week 49 days during the early voting period. 50 (c) Polls shall be open for early voting for at least five hours 51 between nine o'clock in the morning and six o'clock in the evening on 52 each Saturday, Sunday and legal holiday during the early voting period. 53 (d) Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit any board 54 of elections from establishing a greater number of hours for voting 55 during the early voting period beyond the number of hours required in 56 this subdivision.A. 9608 4 1 (e) Early voting polling places and their hours of operation for early 2 voting at a general election shall be designated by May first of each 3 year pursuant to subdivision one of section 4-104 of this chapter. 4 Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of section 4-104 of 5 this chapter requiring poll site designation by May first, early voting 6 polling places and their hours of operation for early voting for a 7 primary or special election shall be made not later than forty-five days 8 before such primary or special election. 9 5. Each board of elections shall create a communication plan to inform 10 eligible voters of the opportunity to vote early. Such plan may utilize 11 any and all media outlets, including social media, and shall publicize: 12 the location and dates and hours of operation of all polling places for 13 early voting; an indication of whether each polling place is accessible 14 to voters with physical disabilities; a clear and unambiguous notice to 15 voters that if they cast a ballot during the early voting period they 16 will not be allowed to vote election day; and if polling places for 17 early voting are limited to voters from certain areas pursuant to subdi- 18 vision three of this section, the location of the polling places for 19 early voting serving the voters of each particular city, town or other 20 political subdivision. 21 6. The form of paper ballots used in early voting shall comply with 22 the provisions of article seven of this chapter that are applicable to 23 voting by paper ballot on election day and such ballot shall be cast in 24 the same manner as provided for in section 8-312 of this article, 25 provided, however, that ballots cast during the early voting period 26 shall be secured in the manner of voted ballots cast on election day and 27 such ballots shall not be canvassed or examined until after the close of 28 the polls on election day, and no unofficial tabulations of election 29 results shall be printed or viewed in any manner until after the close 30 of polls on election day. 31 7. Voters casting ballots pursuant to this title shall be subject to 32 challenge as provided in sections 8-500, 8-502 and 8-504 of this arti- 33 cle. 34 8. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, at the end of 35 each day of early voting, any early voting ballots that have not been 36 scanned because a ballot scanner was not available or because the ballot 37 has been abandoned by the voter at the ballot scanner shall be cast in a 38 manner consistent with section 9-110 of this chapter, except that such 39 ballots which cannot then be cast on a ballot scanner shall be held 40 inviolate and unexamined and shall be duly secured until after the close 41 of polls on election day when such ballots shall be examined and 42 canvassed in a manner consistent with subdivision two of section 9-110 43 of this chapter. 44 9. The board of elections shall secure all ballots and scanners used 45 for early voting from the beginning of the early voting period through 46 the close of the polls on election day; provided, however, the state 47 board of elections may by regulation duly adopted by a majority of such 48 board establish a procedure whereby ballot scanners used for early 49 voting may also be used on election day if the portable memory devices 50 used during early voting containing the early voting election informa- 51 tion and vote tabulations are properly secured apart from the scanners, 52 and the results therefrom shall be duly canvassed after the close of 53 polls on election day. 54 10. After the close of polls on election day, inspectors or board of 55 elections employees appointed to canvass ballots cast during early 56 voting shall follow all relevant provisions of article nine of thisA. 9608 5 1 chapter that are not inconsistent with this section, for canvassing, 2 processing, recording, and announcing results of voting at polling plac- 3 es for early voting, and securing ballots, scanners, and other election 4 materials. Such canvass may occur at the offices of the board of 5 elections, at the early voting polling place or such other location 6 designated by the board of elections. 7 11. Notwithstanding the requirements of this title requiring the 8 canvass of ballots cast during early voting after the close of polls on 9 election day, such canvass may begin one hour before the scheduled close 10 of polls on election day provided the board of elections adopts proce- 11 dures to prevent the public release of election results prior to the 12 close of polls on election day and such procedures shall be consistent 13 with the regulations of the state board of elections and shall be filed 14 with the state board of elections at least thirty days before they shall 15 be effective. 16 § 8-602. State board of elections; powers and duties for early voting. 17 Any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of the 18 provisions of this title shall be promulgated by the state board of 19 elections provided that such rules and regulations shall include 20 provisions to ensure that ballots cast early, by any method allowed 21 under law, are counted and canvassed as if cast on election day. The 22 state board of elections shall promulgate any other rules and regu- 23 lations necessary to ensure an efficient and fair early voting process 24 that respects the privacy of the voter. Provided, further, that such 25 rules and regulations shall require that the voting history record for 26 each voter be continually updated to reflect each instance of early 27 voting by such voter. 28 § 8. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 29 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to any 30 election held 120 days or more after it shall have taken effect.
