BILL NUMBER:  S1397

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the days of voting
for the primary and general elections

 PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :

The purpose of the bill is change the days of voting for the primary
and general elections to weekend days rather than Tuesdays.

 SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill amends paragraphs (a) and (c) of subdivision 1
of section 8-100 of the election law by changing the days of voting in
"paragraph (a)" the primary election to the first Saturday and Sunday
after the second Friday in September before every general election and
in "paragraph (c)" in the general election to the Saturday and Sunday
next succeeding the first Friday in November.

Section 2 of the bill sets forth an effective date of the first of
January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become law.

 JUSTIFICATION :

              

The long-standing tradition of holding federal elections on the first
Tuesday of November began with an act of Congress in 1845. Tuesday was
selected for its comparative convenience because it was a designated
"court day" and the day in which land-owners would typically be in
town to conduct business. The tradition was based on the then-agrarian
American society.

Although polls are open in New York state on one day for a total of 15
hours (from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.), this one-day voting is very
inconvenient for very many people especially those who must go either
before or after the work day when there are often very long lines in
many polling places. As a result, many voters are deterred from going
to vote because of the inconvenience. Evidence of this can be seen in
the fact that only 58 percent of eligible voters cast a vote in the
2012 general election.

This includes approximately 93 million eligible voters across the
country who did-not vote. In New York, the 2012 voter turnout was even
less at approximately 53 percent of eligible voters. Changing the days
for voting to weekends will allow many more eligible voters the
necessary flexibility to get to their polling place and vote.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2015-2016: S.1044-A/No Same As

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To Be Determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
section one of this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
same manner as the reversion of such paragraph as provided in section
13 of chapter 87 of the laws of 2015.