Senate Bill S2135

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  2135

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            February 11, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KRUGER -- 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 providing means whereby
  a voter may express no confidence in  certain  candidates  for  public
  office

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision 5 of section  7-106  of  the  election  law  is
amended by adding a new paragraph 3-a to read as follows:
  (3-A)  TO EXPRESS NO CONFIDENCE IN ALL OF THE CANDIDATES FOR MEMBER OF
THE LEGISLATURE, UNITED  STATES  SENATOR,  REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS,
PRESIDENT  OF  THE UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
MARK A CROSS X OR A CHECK MARK IN THE VOTING SQUARE ABOVE THE PHRASE "NO
CONFIDENCE" ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED FOR ANY CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE.
  S 2. Subdivision 6 of section 7-106 of the election law, as amended by
chapter 647 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read as follows:
  6. Each such ballot shall be printed in sections in which  the  candi-
dates'  names,  emblems and political designations, the ballot proposals
and other requisite matter shall each be boxed in by heavy black  lines.
On  the  ballot  shall  be voting squares in which voters may make their
voting marks.  All voting squares shall be bounded by heavy black lines,
the perpendicular lines to be not less than  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch
wide.  The  voting  squares  and the spaces occupied by the emblem shall
have a depth and width of five-sixteenths of an inch. No voting  squares
shall  be  provided in front of the blank spaces provided for a voter to
write in a name. ON THE BALLOT FOR MEMBER  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE,  UNITED
STATES  SENATOR,  REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS,  PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, SHALL BE A VOTING  SQUARE
TO EXPRESS NO CONFIDENCE IN ALL OF THE CANDIDATES.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08816-01-9

S. 2135                             2
              

  S  3.  Paragraph (g) of subdivision 2 of section 7-114 of the election
law, as amended by chapter 234 of the laws of 1976, is amended  to  read
as follows:
  (g)  Spaces  containing  names of candidates and for writing in names,
SPACES FOR EXPRESSING NO CONFIDENCE IN ALL OF THE CANDIDATES FOR  MEMBER
OF  THE  LEGISLATURE, UNITED STATES SENATOR, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS,
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE  UNITED  STATES,
and  intervening spaces on the paper ballot, shall be separated by light
horizontal lines.   Names of candidates  shall  be  printed  in  capital
letters  not  less  than one-eighth nor more than three-sixteenths of an
inch in height.
  S 4. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 1 of section 7-122 of  the  election
law is amended by adding a new subparagraph 3-a to read as follows:
  3-A.  TO  EXPRESS NO CONFIDENCE IN ALL OF THE CANDIDATES FOR MEMBER OF
THE LEGISLATURE, UNITED  STATES  SENATOR,  REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS,
PRESIDENT  OF  THE UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,
MAKE A CROSS X OR A CHECK MARK IN THE VOTING SQUARE ABOVE THE PHRASE "NO
CONFIDENCE" ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED FOR ANY CANDIDATE FOR THE OFFICE.
  S 5. Section 7-202 of the election law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
subdivision 5 to read as follows:
  5.  VOTING MACHINES SHALL INCLUDE A DEVICE WHEREBY A VOTER MAY EXPRESS
NO CONFIDENCE IN ALL OF THE CANDIDATES FOR MEMBER  OF  THE  LEGISLATURE,
UNITED  STATES  SENATOR,  REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS, PRESIDENT OF THE
UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.
  S 6. The election law is amended by adding a new section 7-132 to read
as follows:
  S  7-132.  ELECTION  RESULTS;  CERTAIN  INFORMATION  TO  BE  REVEALED.
NOTWITHSTANDING  ANY  OTHER  PROVISION  OF GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW TO THE
CONTRARY, ONLY VOTES CAST FOR THE NAMED CANDIDATES  FOR  MEMBER  OF  THE
LEGISLATURE,  UNITED  STATES SENATOR, REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS, PRESI-
DENT OF THE UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES,  SHALL
BE  COUNTED  IN  DETERMINING  NOMINATION OR ELECTION TO ANY STATEWIDE OR
FEDERAL OFFICE, PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THE NUMBER OF BALLOTS  ON  WHICH  THE
SQUARE  EXPRESSING  NO  CONFIDENCE  IN  ALL CANDIDATES FOR MEMBER OF THE
LEGISLATURE, UNITED STATES SENATOR, REPRESENTATIVE IN  CONGRESS,  PRESI-
DENT  OF  THE  UNITED STATES OR VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, WAS
CHOSEN AND THE NUMBER OF THEIR VOTES SHALL BE LISTED FOLLOWING THE NAMES
OF THE CANDIDATES FOR EACH OFFICE  IN  EVERY  POSTING,  PROCLAMATION  OR
ABSTRACT OF THE RESULTS OF THE ELECTION.
  S  7. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
ing the date on which it shall have become a law.