Bill Text: NY S06901 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Includes individuals who do not identify exclusively as a binary gender in eligibility for party positions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-06-01 - SUBSTITUTED BY A7933C [S06901 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S06901-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         6901--A

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 20, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MYRIE,  RAMOS,  GIANARIS,  HOYLMAN, JACKSON, MAY,
          RIVERA, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to
          be committed to the Committee on Elections  --  committee  discharged,
          bill  amended,  ordered  reprinted  as amended and recommitted to said
          committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to  including  individuals
          who  do not identify exclusively as a binary gender in eligibility for
          party positions

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  4  of  section 2-102 of the election law, as
     2  amended by chapter 373 of the laws  of  1978,  is  amended  to  read  as
     3  follows:
     4    4.  [The  state committee may provide by rule for equal representation
     5  of the sexes on said committee.] When  any  [such]  rule  of  the  state
     6  committee  provides for [equal] representation [of the sexes] by gender,
     7  the designating petitions and primary ballots shall list candidates  for
     8  such  party  positions separately by [sexes] gender marker. In providing
     9  for such representation, the state committee shall establish rules  that
    10  provide  for  the ability of individuals who do not exclusively identify
    11  as a binary gender to run for those positions and which respect individ-
    12  uals' gender identity.
    13    § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 2-104 of the election law, as amended by
    14  chapter 234 of the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
    15    2. If[, pursuant to section one of article thirteen of  the  constitu-
    16  tion,]  such  committee or a state convention of the party shall provide
    17  by rule for [equal] representation [of the  sexes]  by  gender  on  such
    18  committee,  the  rules of such committee relative to additional members,
    19  either from election districts or at  large,  shall  be  formulated  and
    20  applied  in  such  manner that the whole membership shall [consist of an
    21  even number, equally] be divided [between the sexes]  among  genders  as
    22  provided by the rules of such committee. When any such rule provides for
    23  [equal]  such  representation  [of the sexes], the designating petitions
    24  and primary ballots shall list candidates for such party positions sepa-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11362-03-1
        S. 6901--A                          2

     1  rately by [sexes] gender marker. In providing for  such  representation,
     2  such  committee  shall  establish  rules that provide for the ability of
     3  individuals who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to  serve
     4  as members and which respect individuals' gender identity.
     5    § 3. Subdivision 2 of section 2-110 of the election law, as amended by
     6  chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     7    2.  In  the  city  of  New  York there shall be the party positions of
     8  assembly district leaders or, if the rules of the county committee shall
     9  so provide, one assembly district  leader  and  one  associate  assembly
    10  district  leader. Outside the city of New York there shall be such posi-
    11  tions when the rules of the county  committee  shall  so  provide.  Such
    12  leaders shall be elected at primary elections as herein provided, within
    13  every  county  in such city for each assembly district, or for each part
    14  of an assembly district within such county as may be designated for  the
    15  purpose in the rules of the county committee, and in every county of the
    16  state outside of such city where the rules so provide, for such assembly
    17  district or part thereof within such county as may be designated in such
    18  rules  for  the purpose. Such assembly district leaders or such assembly
    19  district leader and associate  assembly  district  leader  shall  be  of
    20  [opposite sexes] different genders, if the rules of the county committee
    21  shall  so  provide,  and  shall be enrolled voters of the party residing
    22  within the assembly district and, if the rules of the  county  committee
    23  shall  so  provide,  within  the part of the assembly district for which
    24  they are to be elected,  and  shall  be  elected  at  the  same  primary
    25  election  and for the same term as members of the county committee. When
    26  any such rule provides for [equal] representation [of sexes] by  gender,
    27  the  designating petitions and primary ballots shall list candidates for
    28  such party positions separately by [sexes] gender marker.  In  providing
    29  for such representation, the county committee shall establish rules that
    30  provide  for  the ability of individuals who do not exclusively identify
    31  as a binary gender to serve as district leader and which  respect  indi-
    32  viduals'  gender  identity.  Each  shall perform such duties, powers and
    33  functions as the rules of the county committee may prescribe.  Vacancies
    34  in such positions shall be filled by the members of the county committee
    35  within the assembly district or part thereof, as the case may be,  until
    36  the  first  primary  election  following the creation of such vacancy or
    37  vacancies for which the period  for  circulating  designating  petitions
    38  ends  at  least  seven days after the creation of such vacancy or vacan-
    39  cies, at which time  the  successor  or  successors  shall  be  directly
    40  elected  as  herein  provided.  Assembly  district leaders and associate
    41  assembly district leaders shall automatically be members and shall  have
    42  the right to participate and vote in meetings of the county committee or
    43  any  subcommittee thereof. The county committee may provide by its rules
    44  that the members of the state committee, elected in accordance with  the
    45  provisions  of  this chapter, shall possess the duties, powers and func-
    46  tions of an assembly district leader or an associate  assembly  district
    47  leader.  In such event the provisions of this section shall not apply to
    48  the members of the state committee but upon [his] their  election  as  a
    49  member  of the state committee, such person shall be deemed to have also
    50  been elected as an assembly district leader  or  an  associate  assembly
    51  district leader.
    52    §  4.  Section 2-122 of the election law, as amended by chapter 177 of
    53  the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
    54    § 2-122. National party conventions; delegates, election.    Delegates
    55  and alternates to a national convention of a party shall be elected from
    56  congressional  districts,  or  partly from the state at large and partly
        S. 6901--A                          3

     1  from congressional districts, as the rules of the  state  committee  may
     2  provide.  Such delegates and alternates from the state at large shall be
     3  elected by the state committee or by a state convention of the party, as
     4  the  rules  of  the  state  committee shall prescribe. If the rules of a
     5  national party provide for [equal]  representation  [of  the  sexes]  by
     6  gender  among  delegates elected from districts, such district delegates
     7  shall be elected separately by [sex] gender.    District  delegates  and
     8  alternates  to national party conventions and delegates, and alternates,
     9  if any, to such a state convention shall be elected at  a  primary.  All
    10  delegates  and  alternates  to  a  national  party  convention  shall be
    11  enrolled members of such party. When any such rule provides for  [equal]
    12  representation  [of  the sexes] by gender, the designating petitions and
    13  primary ballots shall list candidates for such party positions separate-
    14  ly by [sex] gender marker. In providing  for  such  representation,  the
    15  party  shall establish rules that provide for the ability of individuals
    16  who do not exclusively identify as a binary gender to serve as delegates
    17  and which respect individuals' gender identity.
    18    § 5. Paragraph c of subdivision 3 of section  5-504  of  the  election
    19  law,  as  amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read
    20  as follows:
    21    c. The board of elections maintains, as a public record, at the appro-
    22  priate office of the board, a complete and current alphabetized list  of
    23  all  registered  voters,  including  voters  in  inactive  status, which
    24  contains next to each voter's name at least the  following  information:
    25  address,  town  or  city,  assembly district where appropriate, election
    26  district, registration serial number, party enrollment, date  of  regis-
    27  tration,  [sex]  gender,  date of birth and, if the voter is in inactive
    28  status, an indication of that fact.
    29    § 6. Subdivision 7 of section 7-116 of the election law, as  added  by
    30  chapter 173 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
    31    7.  Whenever  a county board of elections or the board of elections in
    32  the city of New York must conduct a primary election in  the  respective
    33  county or the city of New York in which separate contests for [both male
    34  and  female] candidates of different genders for the same party position
    35  are to be printed upon the ballots, and when rules require  these  posi-
    36  tions be listed separately on the ballot, the respective county board of
    37  elections or the board of elections in the city of New York shall deter-
    38  mine  by lot [whether to first print the contest for the male candidates
    39  or the contest for the female candidates.  After such determination, the
    40  same order shall be used  for  all  ballots  printed  by  the  board  of
    41  elections for the entire county or city of New York and for all contests
    42  where  there  are  elections separated by male and female candidates for
    43  the same party position.] the order of the  various  gendered  contests.
    44  This  lottery  will  be  conducted  separately for each election that is
    45  separated by gender.
    46    § 7. Section 3-102 of the election law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    47  subdivision 18 to read as follows:
    48    18.  promulgate  rules  and  regulations to provide for the ability of
    49  individuals who do not exclusively identify as a binary  gender  to  run
    50  for  positions  elected  in gendered contests which respect the individ-
    51  uals' gender identity.  In no case shall the board of elections  promul-
    52  gate rules that are inconsistent with a system that requires individuals
    53  filing  for candidacy to self-indentify their gender marker as "M", "F",
    54  or "X", requires all candidates to run  a  single  race,  and  maintains
    55  requirements for gender diversity.
    56    § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.