NY State Senate Bill S6922

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Please enter your contact information

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

A valid email address is required.

Home address search or enter your address manually *

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Leave this field blank

Actions

view actions (7)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 09, 2020	referred to election law delivered to assembly passed senate ordered to third reading cal.5 reported and committed to rules
Jan 08, 2020	referred to elections
Dec 20, 2019	referred to rules

Votes

view votes

Jan 9, 2020 - floor Vote

S6922

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jan 9, 2020 - Elections committee Vote

S6922

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

show Elections committee vote details

Elections Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2020

aye (5)

nay (2)

Jan 9, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

S6922

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Jan 8, 2020 - floor Vote

S6922

floor

Aye

Nay

Absent

Excused

Abstained

Co-Sponsors

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A9791
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-600, El L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S518, A7162

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the number and location of early voting poll sites in certain counties.

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S6922

SPONSOR: KAPLAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the number of polling
sites for early voting in certain counties

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends previously enacted early voting provisions to provide
that, on Long Island, each town and city must have an early voting poll-
ing location.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends § 8-600 of the Election Law to provide that, in coun-
ties with a population of more than 1,250,000 (outside of New York City,
and based on the latest federal decennial census), each town and city
must have an early voting polling location.

This section also increases the maximum required number of polling

locations per county from seven to ten, and provides that the required
maximum of ten does not apply where other provisions of law, including
these new provisions, conflict with the maximum of ten required polling
locations provision.

Section 2: Effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Currently, the board of elections in each county must designate early
voting locations. There must be at least one early voting location for
every full increment of 50,000 voters in each county, with a maximum
required number of locations in each county set at seven.  Polling plac-
es for early voting should be located so that voters in the county have
adequate and equitable access, taking into consideration population
density, travel time to the polling place, proximity to other early
voting poll sites, public transportation routes, commuter traffic
patterns, and other such factors the board of elections deems appropri-
ate.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2019, New York state lawmakers took historic steps in approving a
series of reforms intended to make New York's voting process easier,
more efficient, more transparent, and more accountable to its citizens.
Among these reforms were the scheduling of state and federal primaries
on the same day, automatic updating of voters' registrations when they
move, preregistration of those ages 16 and 17 prior to an election in
which they will be eligible to vote, and requirements that established
10 days of early voting which includes two full weekends prior to
elections.

With regard to early voting, the intent of the legislature was to
provide a flexible timeline within which voters can cast their ballots,
taking into account the reality that voters often have busy schedules,
vacations, and family obligations that can get in the way of voting on

election day. Early voting provides flexibility and a longer voting
process that encourages civic involvement by New York's citizens.

Key components of ensuring the success and accessibility of early voting
are the location and number of polling sites. The original legislation
set a minimum threshold for the number of polling locations, with one
polling location for each 50,000 voters. The legislature was also care-
ful to include provisions stating that when siting polling locations,
population density, travel time, and public transportation routes should
be key considerations. These provisions recognize that inaccessibility
to early voting polling locations will undermine the utility of the
early voting program.

Following analysis of early voting polling site locations in the 2019
election cycle, the State Legislature discovered that every town and
city on Long Island had at least one early voting polling location, with
the exception of three such municipalities. Given Long Island's unique
status as a densely populated area with generally long commutes which
can result in difficult travel challenges, the sponsor concludes that as
a matter of early voting access equity, this gap should be remedied by
providing that each city and town on Long Island must provide an early
voting polling location for its voters.  Since only three towns/cities
do not have such polling locations, the burden on localities is minimal,
but will have a strong positive impact for voter access. Those voters
who were left out in the 2019 election cycle will now have the opportu-
nity to take advantage of the early voting system in their own communi-
ties, as almost all Long Islanders already do. This legislation will
increase access for a voting population that generally faces long
commutes and where travel from municipality to municipality can some-
times be a daunting task.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

There is no cost to the state.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  6922

                       2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                            December 20, 2019
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  KAPLAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
  printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the number  of  polling
  sites for early voting in certain counties

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2  of  section  8-600  of  the
election  law,  as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
read as follows:
  (a) The board of elections shall designate polling  places  for  early
voting,  which  may  include  the offices of the board of elections, for
persons to vote early pursuant to this title. There shall be  so  desig-
nated  at  least one early voting polling place for every full increment
of fifty thousand registered voters in each county;  provided,  however,
the  number  of  early  voting  polling  places in a county shall not be
required to be greater than [seven] TEN UNLESS  REQUIRED  BY  ANY  OTHER
PROVISION  OF  LAW,  and  PROVIDED FURTHER THAT a county with fewer than
fifty thousand voters shall have  at  least  one  early  voting  polling
place;  AND  PROVIDED  FURTHER THAT IN COUNTIES WITH A POPULATION OF ONE
MILLION TWO HUNDRED FIFTY THOUSAND OR MORE BASED ON THE  LATEST  FEDERAL
DECENNIAL CENSUS, BUT OUTSIDE CITIES WITH A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR
MORE BASED ON THE LATEST FEDERAL DECENNIAL CENSUS, EACH TOWN AND CITY IN
SUCH COUNTIES SHALL HAVE AT LEAST ONE POLLING PLACE.
  § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.



 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD14391-02-9

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

The New York State Senate

senate Bill S6922

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jan 9, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 9, 2020 - Elections committee Vote

Elections Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 9, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 8, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jan 8, 2020

Co-Sponsors

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Related Recent Legislation

Related Issues

Related News

senate Bill S6922

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - Passed Senate

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Jan 9, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 9, 2020 - Elections committee Vote

Elections Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 9, 2020 - Rules committee Vote

Rules Committee Vote: Jan 9, 2020

Jan 8, 2020 - floor Vote

Floor Vote: Jan 8, 2020

Co-Sponsors

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Details

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S6922 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Related Recent Legislation

Related Issues

Related News

In The News

Video

Press Release