BILL NUMBER:  S6908

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to write-in votes


 PURPOSE :

The bill clarifies the instructions for casting write-in votes.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Amends Election Law section 7-106, paragraph 3 of
subdivision 5 to provide that to vote for a candidate whose name does
not appear on the ballot the voter should enter it in the space
labeled "write in", which appears at the end of the column or row
under the title of the office.

Section 2: Amends Election Law section 7-122, subparagraph 3 of
paragraph (d) of subdivision 1, to provide that a person can vote for
candidate whose name is not on the ballot by entering the candidate's
name in the appropriate space labeled "write-in", which may be at the
bottom of a column or row for that office.

Section 3: Amends Election Law section 7-122, subparagraphs 1 and 3 of
              

paragraph (e) of subdivision 2, to respectively provide that the
ballot should only be marked with the writing utensils provided and a
write in candidate's name should be entered in the space labeled
"write in" in the row or column for that office.

Section 4: Provides for the Act to take effect immediately.

 EXISTING LAW :

Under current law, the amended sections currently state that the name
of a candidate whose is not on the ballot should be written on a blank
line or space under the names of the candidates for an office or at
the end of the column for such office, and that the ballot should only
be marked with the pencil provided.

 JUSTIFICATION :

The current law is both too restrictive in its description of the
writing instruments to be provided with the ballot, and too vague and
even contradictory with respect to where to write in the name of a
candidate who does not appear in the line or column for an office.
This lack of clarity has resulted in voters casting their write-in
votes in unauthorized areas of the ballot. The changes in the
statutory language clarify where the write-in vote should he entered
to ensure that the vote is accurately cast.

This legislation was requested by the State Board of Elections in its
2010 Election Law Proposals.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

None.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.
 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.