NY State Senate Bill 2019-S5839

Senate Bill S5839

Signed By Governor

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to the form of primary ballots; removes color requirement; repealer

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status Via A7606 - Signed by Governor

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
Jul 03, 2019	signed chap.66
Jun 28, 2019	delivered to governor
Jun 06, 2019	returned to assembly passed senate 3rd reading cal.904 substituted for s5839
Jun 06, 2019	substituted by a7606
Jun 03, 2019	advanced to third reading
May 30, 2019	2nd report cal.
May 29, 2019	1st report cal.904
May 15, 2019	referred to elections

Votes

- Jun 6, 2019 - Floor Vote
  A7606
  
  40
  
  Aye
  
  21
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  1
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Floor Vote: Jun 6, 2019
      
      aye (40)
      
      Addabbo Jr.
      
      Bailey
      
      Benjamin
      
      Biaggi
      
      Boyle
      
      Breslin
      
      Brooks
      
      Carlucci
      
      Comrie
      
      Felder
      
      Gaughran
      
      Gianaris
      
      Gounardes
      
      Harckham
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Jackson
      
      Kaminsky
      
      Kaplan
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Kennedy
      
      Krueger
      
      Liu
      
      Martinez
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Metzger
      
      Montgomery
      
      Myrie
      
      Parker
      
      Persaud
      
      Ramos
      
      Rivera
      
      Salazar
      
      Savino
      
      Sepúlveda
      
      Serrano
      
      Skoufis
      
      Stavisky
      
      Stewart-Cousins
      
      Thomas
      
      nay (21)
      
      Akshar
      
      Amedore
      
      Antonacci
      
      Flanagan
      
      Funke
      
      Gallivan
      
      Griffo
      
      Helming
      
      Jacobs
      
      Jordan
      
      LaValle
      
      Lanza
      
      Little
      
      O'Mara
      
      Ortt
      
      Ranzenhofer
      
      Ritchie
      
      Robach
      
      Serino
      
      Seward
      
      Tedisco
      
      excused (1)
      
      Sanders Jr.
  May 29, 2019 - Elections Committee Vote
  S5839
  
  5
  
  Aye
  
  2
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Elections Committee Vote: May 29, 2019
      
      aye (5)
      
      Kavanagh
      
      May
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      Salazar
      
      nay (2)
      
      Akshar
      
      Ritchie

2019-S5839 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A7606
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Rpld §7-114 sub 2 ¶¶(c) & (h), amd §16-104, El L; amd §17, Chap of 2019 (as proposed in S.2300-A and A.2682-A)

2019-S5839 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the form of primary ballots; removes color requirement.

2019-S5839 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S5839

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the election law, in relation to the
form of primary election ballots; to amend a chapter of the laws of
2019, amending the election law relating to enacting the voter friendly
ballot act, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  2300-A and A.
2682-A, in relation to the effectiveness thereof; and repealing certain
provisions of such law relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To ensure counties can purchase and use cost effective election equip-
ment while maintaining ballot integrity.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill repeals subdivision 2(h) of § 7-114 of the
election law.

Section 2 of this bill repeals Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of § 7-114

of the election law, as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2019, amend-
ing the election law relating to enacting the voter friendly ballot act,
as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 2300-A and A. 2682-A.

Section 3 of this bill amends subdivision 1 of § 16-104 of the election
law to remove the reference to color coding of the primary ballot.

Section 4 amends Section 17 of a chapter of the laws of 2019, relating
to enacting the voter friendly ballot act, as proposed in legislative
bills numbers S. 2300-A and A. 2682-A, to change the effective date to
July 1, 2020

Section 5 is the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Election Law imposes the need for political parties to be assigned a
color on their respective primary election ballots. With the advent of
early voting, subsequent use of electronic poll books, and ballot on
demand (BOD) printers, the need for color coding has been rendered obso-
lete. The color designation is largely a hold-over from the use of lever
machines, when poll workers were handed a colored piece of paper so they
could manually change to the appropriate ballot, then on pre-printed
paper ballots as a way to presumably prevent poll worker error.

Until now, there has not been a considerable cost differential to comply
with the color coding requirements. However, with the new requirement of
counties to purchase new voting equipment such as ballot on demand prin-
ters, maintaining the status-quo will cost counties millions of dollars
more to provide color notations for ballots.  With electronic poll books
and BOD printers, voters will automatically receive the appropriate
ballot and the color bar is effectively unnecessary.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Reduction in equipment costs to country board of elections.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that sections
one and three of this act shall take effect January 1, 2020; provided
further that section two of this act shall take effect on the same date
and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the
election law relating to enacting the voter friendly ballot act, as
proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  2300-A and A. 2682-A, takes
effect.

2019-S5839 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5839
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 15, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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  the  form  of  primary
   election ballots; to amend a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the
   election  law  relating  to enacting the voter friendly ballot act, as
   proposed in legislative bills numbers S.   2300-A and  A.  2682-A,  in
   relation   to   the   effectiveness  thereof;  and  repealing  certain
   provisions of such law relating thereto
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Paragraph  (h)  of  subdivision 2 of section 7-114 of the
 election law is REPEALED.
   § 2. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 7-114 of  the  election
 law,  as amended by a chapter of the laws of 2019, amending the election
 law relating to enacting the voter friendly ballot act, as  proposed  in
 legislative bills numbers S. 2300-A and A.  2682-A, is REPEALED.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 16-104 of the election law is amended to
 read as follows:
   1.  The form and content of any ballot, or portion thereof, to be used
 in an election, and the right to use any emblem design,  [color,]  party
 or independent body name, may be contested in a proceeding instituted in
 the  supreme  court by any aggrieved candidate or by the chairman of any
 party committee or independent body.
   § 4. Section 17 of a  chapter  of  the  laws  of  2019,  amending  the
 election  law  relating  to  enacting  the voter friendly ballot act, as
 proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  2300-A  and  A.    2682-A,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   §  17. This act shall take effect [immediately] JULY 1, 2020 and shall
 apply to ballots to be used for elections occurring  on  or  after  [the
 first day of July next succeeding the year in which it shall have become
 a  law] SUCH EFFECTIVE DATE. EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY, THE ADDITION, AMEND-

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

                                                            LBD11682-01-9

 S. 5839                             2
 
 MENT AND/OR REPEAL OF ANY RULE OR REGULATION NECESSARY FOR THE IMPLEMEN-
 TATION OF THIS ACT ON ITS EFFECTIVE DATE ARE AUTHORIZED TO BE  MADE  AND
 COMPLETED ON OR BEFORE SUCH EFFECTIVE DATE.
   §  5.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
 sections one and three of this act shall take effect  January  1,  2020;
 and  provided  further that section two of this act shall take effect on
 the same date and in the same manner as a chapter of the laws  of  2019,
 amending the election law relating to enacting the voter friendly ballot
 act,  as  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 2300-A and A. 2682-A,
 takes effect.

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