NY State Senate Bill 2019-S546

Senate Bill S546

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Increases the number of registrants an election district may contain with the approval of the county board of elections

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to elections returned to senate died in assembly
Feb 27, 2019	referred to election law delivered to assembly passed senate
Feb 11, 2019	advanced to third reading
Feb 05, 2019	2nd report cal.
Feb 04, 2019	1st report cal.100
Jan 09, 2019	referred to elections

Votes

- Feb 27, 2019 - Floor Vote
  S546
  
  62
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Feb 27, 2019
      
      aye (62)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Antonacci
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Griffo
      
      Harckham
      
      Helming
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Jacobs
      
      Jordan
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Metzger
      
      Montgomery
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serino
      
      Serrano
      
      Seward
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Tedisco
      
      Thomas
      
      Young
      
      excused (1)
      
      Little
  Feb 4, 2019 - Elections Committee Vote
  S546
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Elections Committee Vote: Feb 4, 2019
      
      aye (7)
      
      Akshar
      
      Kavanagh
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      Salazar
      
      Young

2019-S546 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6093
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §§4-100 & 2-104, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2011-2012: S7466, A10434
2013-2014: S3285, A6856
2015-2016: S4560, S7072, A4189
2017-2018: S2794, A5576
2021-2022: S6855, A7478

2019-S546 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Increases the number of registrants an election district may contain with the approval of the county board of elections; increases number on county committee.

2019-S546 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S546              REVISED MEMO 02/07/19

SPONSOR: AKSHAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the election law, in relation to
increasing the number of registrants an election district may contain
with the approval of the county board of elections; authorizes increase
of county committee

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would raise the election district_ registrant enrollment from
a maximum of 1,150 registrants to 2,000.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill would amend Election Law § 4-100(3) (a) revises
the definition of an "election districts' to expand its maximum regis-
trants from eleven hundred fifty to two thousand.

Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Upon enactment this legislation would raise the limit of voters allowed
in every election district from 1,150 voters to 2,000. The current
election district registrant enrollment limits were prescribed based on
the fact that the old lever voter machines were not capable of handling
more than 1,000 votes per election; thus a strict limit of 1,150 voters
per district was necessary. The new optical scanners will read and hold
up to approximately 4,000 ballots/voters per machine. Therefore, this
change in the law aims to serve as mandate relief to municipalities by
allowing them to consolidate districts and reduce costs in many areas,
including:  hiring fewer election inspectors, fewer ballots to order;
and requiring less time testing ballots.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

S.2794 - Died in Rules;
S.7072A - Died in Rules
S.4560 - Died in Rules
S.3285 - Died in Rules

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This bill would take effect immediately.

2019-S546 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    546
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AKSHAR -- 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 increasing  the  number
   of  registrants  an election district may contain with the approval of
   the county board of elections; authorizes increase of county committee
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  a  of  subdivision  3  of section 4-100 of the
 election law, as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is  amended
 to read as follows:
   a.  Each  election  district  shall  be in compact form and may not be
 partly within and partly without a ward, town, city, a village which has
 five thousand or more inhabitants and is wholly within one  town,  or  a
 county  legislative,  assembly,  senatorial  or  congressional district.
 Except as provided in paragraph b of this subdivision, election district
 boundaries, other than those boundaries which are coterminous  with  the
 boundaries  of those political subdivisions mentioned in this paragraph,
 must be streets, rivers, railroad lines or  other  permanent  character-
 istics  of the landscape which are clearly visible to any person without
 the need to use any technical or mechanical device. An election district
 shall contain not more than nine hundred  fifty  registrants  (excluding
 registrants  in  inactive  status)  or,  with the approval of the county
 board of elections, not more than [eleven hundred  fifty]  TWO  THOUSAND
 registrants (excluding registrants in inactive status), but any election
 district may be divided for the convenience of the voters.
   § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 2-104 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
   1.  The  county  committee  of  each party shall be constituted by the
 election in each election district within such county of  at  least  two
 members  and  of such additional members[, not in excess of two,] as the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05564-01-9

 S. 546                              2
 
 rules of the county committee of the party  within  the  county  or  the
 statement  filed  pursuant hereto may provide for such district, propor-
 tional to the party vote in  the  district  for  governor  at  the  last
 preceding  gubernatorial  election,  or  in  case the boundaries of such
 district have been changed or a new district has been created since  the
 last  preceding  gubernatorial  election, proportional to the party vote
 cast for member of assembly or in the event there was  no  election  for
 member  of  assembly, then proportional to the number of enrolled voters
 of such party in such district on  the  list  of  enrolled  voters  last
 published  by  the  board  of  elections,  excluding  voters in inactive
 status. In a county in which no additional members are provided  for  by
 the rules of the county committee or the statement filed pursuant hereto
 the  voting  power  of  each member shall be in proportion to such party
 vote or, if the election  district  which  such  member  represents  was
 created  or  changed  since  the  last  election for member of assembly,
 proportional to such party enrollment. In a county in  which  additional
 members  are  so provided for, on the basis of the party vote or enroll-
 ment in election districts within such county, each  member  shall  have
 one  vote.  Each member of a county committee shall be an enrolled voter
 of the party residing in the county and the assembly district from which
 or in the assembly district containing the election  district  in  which
 such  member  is elected except that a member of a county committee who,
 as a result of an alteration  of  assembly  district  lines,  no  longer
 resides  within  such  assembly  district  may continue to serve for the
 balance of the term to which he was elected.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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