Senate Bill S1837B

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1837

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the appointment of
college and university students as election inspectors


 PURPOSE :

Permits boards of elections to hire college and university students as
elections inspectors without compliance with certain requirements.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Amends the election law to add a new section 3-403 which authorizes
boards of election to recruit college and university students to serve
as election inspectors. Such student election inspectors would be
exempt from the existing county residency and party enrollment
requirements, but must be residents of New York State. Boards of
election may also opt to vary the training provided to student
election inspectors and may collaborate with college and universities
to provide this training.

 JUSTIFICATION :

              

Every year at election time, election districts around the state are
plagued by a shortage of trained staff to operate as elections
inspectors at local polling places. One consequence of this chronic
shortage is that several election districts are often forced to vote
in a single polling place, an inconvenience for voters who would
prefer to cast their ballots closer to home and an administrative
nightmare for election workers who must maintain and close down
several machines. In a presidential election year or a year with
several hotly contested races, like we saw in 2000, these staffing
shortages are felt more acutely. In some areas of New York City,
voters were forced to wait for 2-3 hours to cast their ballots.

To ensure that every New Yorker can fully participate in the election
process, we need to increase the number of trained election
inspectors.  New recruitment is especially important now because many
of the current inspectors are senior citizens and will retire from
their poll watching duties in the next few years.  I propose that New
York solve its election inspector shortage by exploiting a heretofore
untapped labor pool - college students. By recruiting young people as
inspectors, New York will help alleviate a current crisis while
ensuring an adequate pool of polling place personnel for many years to
come.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2002 - A4823 - Referred to Elections
2004 - A3243 - Referred to Elections
2006 - S4427 - Referred to Elections
2008 - S2255 - Referred to Elections

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1837A      REVISED 05/19/10

 TITLE OF BILL :
An act to amend the election law, in relation to the appointment of
college and university students as election inspectors


 PURPOSE :
Permits boards of elections to hire college and university students as
elections inspectors without compliance with certain requirements.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :
Amends the election law to add a new subdivision 6-a to section 3-400
which authorizes boards of election to recruit college and university
students to serve as election inspectors. Such student election
inspectors would be exempt from the existing county residency
requirements, but must be registered voters residing in New York
State, and meet all other requirements.

 JUSTIFICATION :
Every year at election time, election districts around the state are
plagued by a shortage of trained staff to operate as elections
inspectors at local polling places. One consequence of this chronic
shortage is that several election districts are often forced to vote
in a single polling place, an inconvenience for voters who would
prefer to cast their ballots closer to home and an administrative
              

nightmare for election workers who must maintain and close down
several machines. In a presidential election year or a year with
several hotly contested races, these staffing shortages are felt more
acutely. In some areas of New York City, voters were forced to wait
for 2-3 hours to cast their ballots during the 2000 General Election.

To ensure that every New Yorker can fully participate in the election
process, we need to increase the number of trained election
inspectors.  New recruitment is especially important now because many
of the current inspectors are senior citizens and will retire from
their poll watching duties in the next few years. I propose that New
York solve its election inspector shortage by exploiting a heretofore
untapped labor pool college students. By recruiting young people as
inspectors, New York will help alleviate a current crisis while
ensuring an adequate pool of polling place personnel for many years to
come.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :
2002 - A.4823 - Referred to Elections
2004 - A.3243 - Referred to Elections
2006 - S.4427 - Referred to Elections
2008 - S.2255 - Referred to Elections

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :
None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.