NY State Senate Bill 2019-S1833

Senate Bill S1833

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Requires boards of elections and bipartisan committees to hand count ballots cast in elections where the difference is 10 or less votes or .5%

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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
Jun 18, 2019	referred to election law delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.1476 committee discharged and committed to rules
Jan 16, 2019	referred to elections

Votes

- Jun 18, 2019 - Floor Vote
  S1833
  
  47
  
  Aye
  
  15
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 18, 2019
      
      aye (47)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Antonacci
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Little
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Metzger
      
      Montgomery
      
      Myrie
      
      O'Mara
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rivera
      
      Robach
      
      Salazar
      
      Sanders Jr.
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (15)
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Jacobs
      
      Jordan
      
      Ortt
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Serino
      
      Seward
      
      Tedisco
  Jun 18, 2019 - Rules Committee Vote
  S1833
  
  14
  
  Aye
  
  1
  
  Nay
  
  4
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Rules Committee Vote: Jun 18, 2019
      
      aye (14)
      
      Benjamin
      
      Breslin
      
      Comrie
      
      Gianaris
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Little
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      Parker
      
      Robach
      
      Savino
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      nay (1)
      
      Flanagan
      
      aye wr (4)
      
      Griffo
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Seward

co-Sponsors

2019-S1833 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A8377
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §9-208, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: S3692
2017-2018: S3478
2021-2022: A5143

2019-S1833 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires boards of elections and bipartisan committees to hand count ballots during recanvass of any ballots cast in election for a position where the difference between the candidates is 10 or less votes, or .5% of the ballots cast for such position, whichever shall be greater.

2019-S1833 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1833

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring the hand
counting of all ballots cast in an election for a position in which the
difference in the ballots cast for the candidates for such position is
ten or less votes or .5 percent of votes cast, whichever is greater

 
PURPOSE:

This will require Boards of Elections and bipartisan committees to hand
count ballots cast in elections where the difference is 10 or less votes
or .5%, whichever is greater.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 adds a new subdivision 1-a to section 9-208 of the election
law requiring that in an election where the difference of votes is 10 or
less, or .5%, whichever is greater, there shall be a hand recount.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The election law empowers a trial judge to exercise discretion on wheth-
er or not to conduct an election recount. Allowing close contests to be
decided in court turns these elections in to highly partisan battles
where no one speaks for New York voters. It is essential that the voice
of voters be heard above all else.

In an election where the margin is small, New Yorkers should not be
forced to accept a possibly flawed electoral result for the sake of
expedience or convenience. New York wisely chose a system that records
the voters' intent plainly and permanently on paper ballots.  It is
important that New Yorkers have confidence that our voting system will
accurately and faithfully represent the voice of voters.

We need to make sure that where there is a very small margin in legisla-
tive races, the will of the people should always be determined using a
hand count. A complete hand recount would take only a few days at most,
and would eliminate any doubt that the machines may have miscounted.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018: Died in Elections

2017: Died in Elections

2016: Died in Elections

2015: Died in Elections

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and apply to elections conducted
on or after such date.

2019-S1833 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1833
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 16, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- 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  requiring  the  hand
   counting  of  all  ballots cast in an election for a position in which
   the difference in the ballots cast for the candidates for  such  posi-
   tion  is  ten  or less votes or .5 percent of votes cast, whichever is
   greater
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  9-208 of the election law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
   1-A. IF UPON THE ORIGINAL CANVASS  OF  THE  RESULTS  OF  ANY  GENERAL,
 SPECIAL  OR  PRIMARY  ELECTION  THE  DIFFERENCE  IN BALLOTS CAST FOR THE
 CANDIDATES FOR ANY POSITION IS TEN OR LESS VOTES, OR .5 PERCENT  OF  THE
 BALLOTS  CAST  FOR SUCH POSITION, WHICHEVER SHALL BE GREATER; THE RECAN-
 VASS OF BALLOTS CAST FOR SUCH POSITION, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION  ONE  OF
 THIS SECTION, SHALL REQUIRE THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS OR BIPARTISAN COMMIT-
 TEE TO COUNT ALL BALLOTS CAST FOR SUCH POSITION BY HAND, INCLUDING THOSE
 BALLOTS SCANNED BY A BALLOT SCANNER.
   §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately  and shall apply to
 elections conducted on or after such date.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03999-01-9

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Senate Bill S1833

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Sponsored By

Michael Gianaris