Bill Text: NY A00897 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the procedure for filling a vacancy in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly; allows for independent nominating petitions to be presented and provides for a special election to be held forty-five days from the date of the governor making a proclamation for a special election.

Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to election law [A00897 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A00897-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           897
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    January 14, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  L. ROSENTHAL,  ORTIZ,  MALLIOTAKIS, SIMON --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once  and  referred  to
          the Committee on Election Law
        AN  ACT  to amend the election law, in relation to the procedure to fill
          senate and assembly vacancies
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Section  6-116 of the election law, as amended by chapter
     2  373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 6-116. Party nominations; election to fill a  vacancy.  1.  A  party
     4  nomination  of a candidate for election to fill a vacancy in an elective
     5  office required to be filled at the  next  general  election,  occurring
     6  after  seven  days  before  the  last  day  for  circulating designating
     7  petitions or after the holding of the meeting or convention to  nominate
     8  or  designate  candidates  for such, shall be made, after the day of the
     9  primary election, by a majority vote of a quorum of the state  committee
    10  if  the  vacancy  occurs  in an office to be filled by all voters of the
    11  state, and otherwise by a majority vote of a quorum of the members of  a
    12  county committee or committees last elected in the political subdivision
    13  in  which  such  vacancy is to be filled, or by a majority of such other
    14  committee as the rules of the party may provide. A certificate of  nomi-
    15  nation shall be filed as provided for [herein] in this article.
    16    2.  Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision one of this section,
    17  a vacancy in the office of state senator or in the office of  member  of
    18  assembly  required  to  be  filled at the next general election shall be
    19  filled by popular election in the following manner:
    20    (a) Within three days of the occurrence of  a  vacancy,  the  governor
    21  shall  make proclamation of a special non-partisan election to fill such
    22  office, specifying the district or county in which the election is to be
    23  held, and the day thereof, which shall be forty-five days from the  date
    24  of the proclamation.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03282-01-9
        A. 897                              2
     1    (b)  All  nominations for elections to fill vacancies held pursuant to
     2  this subdivision shall  be  by  independent  nominating  petition,  such
     3  petitions  to be subject to the provisions of this article pertaining to
     4  independent nominations except as is otherwise set forth in this  subdi-
     5  vision.    The  sheets  of the independent nominating petition shall set
     6  forth in every instance the name of the signer,  his  or  her  residence
     7  address,  town or city (except in the city of New York, the county), and
     8  the date the signature is fixed. Such  petition  shall  be  required  to
     9  contain  a  designated number of signatures which shall be the lesser of
    10  five percent of votes cast in the last preceding gubernatorial  election
    11  or  one  thousand five hundred signatures per petition for the office of
    12  state senator and seven hundred fifty signatures per  petition  for  the
    13  office  of member of assembly.  A signature on an independent nominating
    14  petition made earlier than the date  of  the  proclamation  required  by
    15  paragraph (a) of this subdivision shall not be counted.
    16    (c)  All nominating petitions filed pursuant to this subdivision shall
    17  be filed in accordance with the provisions  of  section  6-144  of  this
    18  article  within  fifteen days after the date of the governor's proclama-
    19  tion as described in paragraph (a) of this subdivision.
    20    (d) A person elected to fill a vacancy at an election held pursuant to
    21  this subdivision shall take office immediately  upon  qualification  and
    22  serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
    23    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.