Bill Text: NY S04306 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Enacts the "Make Voting Easy Act"; requires the board of elections to designate a number of early voting polling places based on the number of registered voters in each county; relates to the hours polls are open for early voting.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-12-22 - SIGNED CHAP.781 [S04306 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S04306-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4306--B 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 3, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sens. GIANARIS, BROOKS, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAPLAN, MANNION, MAY, SKOUFIS, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections -- commit- tee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recom- mitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the "Make Voting Easy Act" to require that the board of elections designate a number of early voting polling places based on the number of regis- tered voters in each county The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Make Voting Easy Act". 3 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 8-600 of the election law, as added by 4 chapter 6 of the laws of 2019, paragraph (a) as amended by chapter 74 of 5 the laws of 2021, paragraph (b) as added and paragraphs (c), (d), and 6 (e) as relettered by chapter 110 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read 7 as follows: 8 2. (a) The board of elections shall designate polling places for early 9 voting, which may include the offices of the board of elections, for 10 persons to vote early pursuant to this title[; provided, however, that11the]. 12 (b) The largest city in the county or, if there is no city in the 13 county, the municipality with the highest population in each county 14 based on the latest federal decennial census, or the county seat in 15 Washington county, shall have at least one polling place designated for 16 early voting, and to the extent practicable if such city or municipality 17 has public transportation routes, such polling place shall be situated 18 along such transportation routes. [There] EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03251-13-1S. 4306--B 2 1 (c) In counties with at least five hundred thousand registered voters, 2 there shall be so designated at least one early voting polling place for 3 every full increment of [fifty] forty thousand registered voters [in4each county; provided, however,]. 5 (d) In all other counties with less than five hundred thousand regis- 6 tered voters, there shall be so designated at least one early voting 7 polling place for every full increment of thirty thousand registered 8 voters; provided, however, the number of early voting polling places in 9 [a county] counties with less than five hundred thousand registered 10 voters shall not be required to be greater than ten [unless required by11any other provision of law, and a county with fewer than fifty thousand12voters shall have at least one early voting polling place] nor less than 13 one. 14 [(b)] (e) For any special, primary or run-off primary election at 15 which no voters of the municipality with the highest population within 16 the county are eligible to vote, the board of elections may, in lieu of 17 having an early voting polling place in such municipality, designate a 18 polling place for early voting in the municipality with the highest 19 population within the county within which the voters are eligible to 20 vote at such special, primary, or run-off primary election. 21 [(c)] (f) The board of elections of each county or the city of New 22 York may establish additional polling places for early voting in excess 23 of the minimum number required by this subdivision for the convenience 24 of eligible voters. 25 [(d)] (g) Notwithstanding the minimum number of early voting poll 26 sites otherwise required by this subdivision, for any primary or special 27 election, upon majority vote of the board of elections, the number of 28 early voting sites may be reduced when the board of elections determines 29 a lesser number of sites is sufficient to meet the needs of early 30 voters. 31 [(e)] (h) Polling places for early voting shall be located so that 32 voters in the county have adequate and equitable access, taking into 33 consideration population density, travel time to the polling place, 34 proximity to other early voting poll sites, public transportation 35 routes, commuter traffic patterns and such other factors the board of 36 elections deems appropriate. The provisions of section 4-104 of this 37 chapter, except subdivisions four and five of such section, shall apply 38 to the designation of polling places for early voting except to the 39 extent such provisions are inconsistent with this section. 40 § 3. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 4 of section 8-600 of the election 41 law, as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as 42 follows: 43 (c) Polls shall be open for early voting for at least [five] eight 44 hours between nine o'clock in the morning and [six] eight o'clock in the 45 evening on each Saturday, Sunday and legal holiday during the early 46 voting period. 47 § 4. This act shall take effect April 1, 2022 and shall apply to any 48 general, primary, run-off primary, or special election held thereafter.