Bill Text: NY S00508 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the appointment of election inspectors and poll clerks; provides that each board of elections submit a report detailing assignments of election inspectors and poll clerks; provides that each board of elections be required to fill vacancies by appointing individuals that appear on the additional inspector list.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S00508 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S00508-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           508

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                       (Prefiled)

                                     January 6, 2021
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in  relation  to  the  appointment  of
          election inspectors and poll clerks

          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 3-401  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  added by chapter 90 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
     3    4.  Any county board of elections appointing election coordinators and
     4  in the city of New York, the board of elections of the city of New York,
     5  shall prepare a report detailing assignments and duties to be  delegated
     6  to  election  coordinators.    Any  county board of elections appointing
     7  election coordinators and  in  the  city  of  New  York,  the  board  of
     8  elections  of  the  city  of  New York, shall prepare a report detailing
     9  assignments of election inspectors and poll clerks,  and  shall  specif-
    10  ically  enumerate  the  poll sites for which election inspectors or poll
    11  clerks have not yet been assigned, detailing the efforts made to date to
    12  fill those assignments. Said [report] reports shall be  filed  with  the
    13  state  board  of elections no later than one month prior to the election
    14  at which election coordinators, election inspectors and poll clerks  are
    15  to be assigned.
    16    §  2. Subdivision 1 of section 3-406 of the election law is amended to
    17  read as follows:
    18    1. Each board of elections shall establish  a  list  of  persons  duly
    19  qualified  to serve as election inspectors, which list shall be known as
    20  the "Additional Inspector List", in such number of persons as the  board
    21  shall  determine. Such a list shall be equally divided between the major
    22  political parties. Appointments under this section shall be made in  the
    23  manner  provided  for the appointment of regular election inspectors and
    24  for a like term.  Each board of elections shall be required  to  appoint

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01480-01-1
        S. 508                              2

     1  election  inspectors,  poll  clerks  and  election coordinators from the
     2  additional inspector list for each vacancy listed on the report provided
     3  to the state board of elections pursuant to subdivision four of  section
     4  3-401  of  this title no later than twenty days prior to the election at
     5  which election coordinators, election inspectors and poll clerks are  to
     6  be assigned.
     7    § 3. Section 3-418 of the election law, the section heading and subdi-
     8  vision  4  as  amended by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to
     9  read as follows:
    10    § 3-418. Election inspectors and poll clerks; emergency provisions for
    11  filling vacancies or absences. 1. If, at the time of a  meeting  of  the
    12  inspectors,  there  shall  be  a  vacancy,  or if any inspector shall be
    13  absent, the inspector present who is the designee of the same  party  as
    14  the  absent inspector shall appoint a qualified inspector from the addi-
    15  tional inspector list established pursuant  to  section  3-406  of  this
    16  title  until such additional inspector list is exhausted. Once the addi-
    17  tional inspector list is exhausted, the inspector  present  who  is  the
    18  designee of the same party as the absent inspector shall appoint a qual-
    19  ified  voter  of  the  same  city  or town to act in place of the absent
    20  inspector. If, however, any inspectors shall be temporarily absent for a
    21  portion of the meeting, the inspectors present, provided that  they  are
    22  not all members of the same political party, shall have and may exercise
    23  any  power  or  perform  any  duty  conferred or imposed upon a board of
    24  inspectors.
    25    2. If at the time of any such meeting two inspectors who  are  members
    26  of  the same party shall be absent, or their places shall be vacant, the
    27  poll clerk or poll clerks present, if any, of the same party  shall  act
    28  as inspectors and shall appoint qualified inspectors from the additional
    29  inspector list established pursuant to section 3-406 of this title until
    30  such  supplemental list is exhausted. Once the additional inspector list
    31  is exhausted, the poll clerk or poll clerks present, if any, of the same
    32  party as the absent inspectors shall act as inspectors and shall appoint
    33  qualified voters of the same city or town who are members  of  the  same
    34  party as the absent inspectors, to act in place of such clerks.
    35    3.  If  at  the  time  of any such meeting two inspectors and the poll
    36  clerk or clerks, if any, who are members of  the  same  party  shall  be
    37  absent,  or  their  places  shall be vacant, the inspector or inspectors
    38  present, or in their absence the poll clerk or clerks present,  if  any,
    39  shall  appoint  qualified  inspectors or poll clerks from the additional
    40  inspector list established pursuant to section 3-406 of this title until
    41  such additional inspector list is exhausted. Once the additional inspec-
    42  tor list is exhausted, the inspector or inspectors present, or in  their
    43  absence  the  poll clerk or clerks present, if any, shall appoint quali-
    44  fied voters of the same city or town, who are members of the same  party
    45  as  such  absent inspectors, to act as such inspectors and clerks, until
    46  the inspectors or clerks  duly  appointed  by  the  original  appointing
    47  authority, shall appear.
    48    4. If at the time of any such meeting, there shall be a vacancy in the
    49  office of poll clerk, or if a poll clerk shall be absent, the inspectors
    50  who are designees of the same party, or in their absence, any poll clerk
    51  of  the  same  party who is present, shall appoint qualified poll clerks
    52  from the additional inspector list established pursuant to section 3-406
    53  of this title until such additional inspector list  is  exhausted.  Once
    54  the  additional inspector list is exhausted, the inspector or inspectors
    55  present, or in their absence the poll clerk or clerks present,  if  any,
        S. 508                              3

     1  shall appoint a qualified voter of the same city or town who is a member
     2  of the same party, to act in place of the absent poll clerk.
     3    5.  Every  person so appointed or named shall take the oath of office,
     4  which shall be administered by any person authorized to administer oaths
     5  or by one of the inspectors.
     6    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.