Bill Text: NY S00259 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires the board of elections to provide email notifications to voters whenever they change the location of a polling place.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S00259 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S00259-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           259

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by Sens. MYRIE, KENNEDY, LIU -- read twice and ordered print-
          ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to email notification of a
          change in location of a polling place

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section  4-104  of  the  election  law  is
     2  amended to read as follows:
     3    2.  If  the board of elections, after designating a polling place, and
     4  after sending written notice of such polling place  to  each  registered
     5  voter,  designates  an alternative polling place, it must, at least five
     6  days before the next election or day for registration, send by mail  and
     7  email  a written notice to each registered voter notifying him or her of
     8  the changed location of such polling place. If such notice is not possi-
     9  ble the board of elections must  provide  for  an  alternative  form  of
    10  notice  to  be  given  to voters at the location of the previous polling
    11  place.
    12    § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 5 of section 4-104 of  the  election
    13  law,  as  amended by chapter 438 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read
    14  as follows:
    15    (a) Whenever the number of voters eligible to vote in an  election  in
    16  any election district is less than one hundred, the polling place desig-
    17  nated  for  such district may be the polling place of any other district
    18  which could properly be designated as the polling  place  of  the  first
    19  mentioned  district  pursuant  to the provisions of this chapter, except
    20  that the polling place designated for any such district may be the poll-
    21  ing place of any other district in such city or town provided  that  the
    22  distance  from  such  first  mentioned district to the polling place for
    23  such other district is not unreasonable pursuant to rules or regulations
    24  prescribed by the state board of elections and provided that  the  total

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02399-01-1

        S. 259                              2

     1  number  of  persons  eligible  to  vote  in  such other district in such
     2  election, including the persons eligible to vote in such first mentioned
     3  districts, is not more than five hundred. The inspectors of election and
     4  poll  clerks,  if any, of such other election district shall also act in
     5  all respects as the election officers for such first mentioned districts
     6  and no other inspectors shall be appointed to serve in or for such first
     7  mentioned districts. A separate poll ledger or computer generated regis-
     8  tration list, separate voting machine or ballots and separate canvass of
     9  results shall be provided for such  first  mentioned  districts,  except
    10  that if the candidates and ballot proposals to be voted on by the voters
    11  of such districts are the same, the election districts shall be combined
    12  and  shall  constitute  a  single  election  district for that election.
    13  However, if the first mentioned district contains fewer than ten  voters
    14  eligible  to  vote in such election, there shall be no limitation on the
    15  total number of persons eligible to vote in such combined  district.  If
    16  the  polling  place for any election district is moved for any election,
    17  pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision, the board  of  elections
    18  shall,  not  later  than  ten  nor  more  than  fifteen days before such
    19  election, mail, by first class mail, to each voter eligible to  vote  in
    20  such  election  district  at  such  election, a notice setting forth the
    21  location of the polling place for such election and specifying that such
    22  location is for such election only, and email the same  notification  to
    23  any voter that has supplied the board with a valid email address.
    24    §  3.  Paragraph (k) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election
    25  law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiv) to read as follows:
    26    (xiv) A space for the applicant to provide an email address  to  which
    27  official correspondence from the state board of elections may be sent.
    28    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
    29  have become a law.
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