Bill Text: NY S07627 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Ensures that voting systems testing requirements do not make it impractical to provide each polling place for early voting all of the election district ballots.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-03 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S07627 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S07627-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7627

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 3, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- 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  ensuring  that  voting
          systems  testing  requirements  do  not make it impractical to provide
          each polling place for early  voting  all  of  the  election  district
          ballots

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 2 and 3 of section 8-600 of the election  law,
     2  as  added  by  chapter  6  of  the  laws of 2019, are amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    2. (a) The board of elections shall designate polling places for early
     5  voting, which may include the offices of the  board  of  elections,  for
     6  persons  to  vote early pursuant to this title. There shall be so desig-
     7  nated at least one early voting polling place for every  full  increment
     8  of  fifty  thousand registered voters in each county; provided, however,
     9  [the number of early voting polling places in  a  county  shall  not  be
    10  required  to  be greater than seven, and] a county with fewer than fifty
    11  thousand voters shall have at least one early voting polling place.
    12    (b) The board of elections of each county or the city of New York  may
    13  establish  additional  polling  places for early voting in excess of the
    14  minimum number required by  this  subdivision  for  the  convenience  of
    15  eligible voters.
    16    (c)  Notwithstanding  the  minimum  number  of early voting poll sites
    17  otherwise required by this subdivision, for  any  [primary  or]  special
    18  election,  upon  majority  vote of the board of elections, the number of
    19  early voting sites may be reduced when the board of elections determines
    20  a lesser number of sites is  sufficient  to  meet  the  needs  of  early
    21  voters.
    22    (d) Polling places for early voting shall be located so that voters in
    23  the county have adequate and equitable access, taking into consideration
    24  population density, travel time to the polling place, proximity to other
    25  early  voting poll sites, public transportation routes, commuter traffic
    26  patterns and such other factors the board of elections  deems  appropri-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14437-01-9
        S. 7627                             2

     1  ate.  The  provisions  of section 4-104 of this chapter, except subdivi-
     2  sions four and five of such section, shall apply to the  designation  of
     3  polling places for early voting except to the extent such provisions are
     4  inconsistent with this section.
     5    3.  Any  voter  may  vote at any polling place for early voting estab-
     6  lished pursuant to subdivision two of this section in the  county  where
     7  such  voter is registered to vote; provided, however, if it is impracti-
     8  cal to provide each polling place for early voting all of  the  election
     9  district  ballots  [or  if  early voting at any such polling place makes
    10  ensuring that no voter  has  not  previously  voted  early  during  such
    11  election],  the  board  of  elections may assign election districts to a
    12  particular early voting poll site. All voters in each county shall  have
    13  one or more polling places at which they are eligible to vote throughout
    14  the  early voting period on a substantially equal basis. If the board of
    15  elections does not agree by majority vote to  plan  to  assign  election
    16  districts  to  early voting poll sites, all voters in the county must be
    17  able to vote at any poll site for early voting in the county.
    18    § 2. Section 8-602 of the election law, as added by chapter 6  of  the
    19  laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
    20    § 8-602. State board of elections; powers and duties for early voting.
    21  The  state  board  of  elections  shall  promulgate rules or regulations
    22  necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this  title.  Such
    23  rules  and  regulations shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
    24  to: (i) ensure that ballots cast early, by any method allowed under law,
    25  are counted and canvassed as if cast on election day[,]; (ii) ensure  an
    26  efficient and fair early voting process that respects the privacy of the
    27  voter[,  and];  (iii)  require  that  the voting history record for each
    28  voter be continually updated to reflect each instance of early voting by
    29  such voter; and (iv) ensure that voting systems testing requirements  do
    30  not  make  it impractical to provide each polling place for early voting
    31  all of the election district ballots.
    32    § 3. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    33  have  become  a  law  and  shall  apply to any general, primary, run-off
    34  primary or special election held  thereafter  as  provided  for  in  the
    35  election law.