Bill Text: NY S00612 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Prohibits conflicts of interest among board of elections employees; prevents a board of elections employee with the exception of members of a county committee and district leaders from remaining on the board of elections payroll while also a candidate for an office who has an election overseen by the board at which they are employed; allows for a member to remain on the board until 90 days before the general election if there is no primary for such office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-15 - AMENDED ON THIRD READING 612C [S00612 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00612-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           612

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 5, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  MAYER, MAY -- 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  prohibiting  conflicts
          of interest among board of elections employees

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

     1    Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new  section  3-304
     2  to read as follows:
     3    §  3-304.  Board  employees;  conflicts  of  interest.  1. No board of
     4  elections employee shall engage in or participate in any trade or  busi-
     5  ness  which  creates,  or  may  tend  to  create, an actual or potential
     6  conflict of interest. No board of elections employee  shall  maintain  a
     7  financial  interest,  directly  or  indirectly,  in  a company providing
     8  services to a candidate who has an election overseen by such  employee's
     9  office,  including  but  not  limited  to,  printing companies, election
    10  consulting companies, direct mail companies and digital marketing compa-
    11  nies. No board of elections employee shall maintain a  financial  inter-
    12  est,  directly  or  indirectly, in or be employed by a vendor or company
    13  that sells voting machines,  electronic  pollbooks,  printers  or  other
    14  technical or electronic equipment.  A violation of any of the provisions
    15  of  this  subdivision  shall  be  cause  for  discipline by the board of
    16  elections, including removal of the board of elections employee.
    17    2. No board of  elections  employee  shall  remain  on  the  board  of
    18  elections  payroll  while  also  a  candidate  for  an office who has an
    19  election overseen by the board at  which  they  are  employed.  For  the
    20  purposes  of this article, a board of elections employee shall be deemed
    21  a candidate for elective office upon the filing of designating petitions
    22  for such office or, where nominations for such  office  are  made  other
    23  than  by  petition,  upon  acceptance of a nomination. Such employee may
    24  remain in "leave without pay" status until  such  time  as  his  or  her
    25  candidacy  shall  cease,  or upon the day following the certification of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02172-01-3
        S. 612                              2

     1  election results for such office, whichever comes first. Notwithstanding
     2  the provisions of this section, when there are no primary elections  for
     3  the  office being sought by a candidate that is employed by the board of
     4  elections,  that  candidate may remain on the board of elections payroll
     5  for no more than ninety days prior to a general election.
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that subdivision
     7  1 of section 3-304 of the election law, as added by section one of  this
     8  act, shall take effect one year after this act shall have become a law.