NY State Senate Bill 2019-S9076

Senate Bill S9076

2019-2020 Legislative Session

Relates to enacting the "Make Voting Easy Act" to require the board of elections to designate at least one early voting polling place for every twenty-five thousand registered voters in each county

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules 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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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Oct 30, 2020	referred to rules

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2019-S9076 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §8-600, El L
Versions Introduced in 2021-2022 Legislative Session:: S4306

2019-S9076 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the "Make Voting Easy Act"; requires the board of elections to designate at least one early voting polling place for every full increment of twenty-five thousand registered voters in each county; removes provision permitting a maximum of seven early voting polling places in larger counties and requires at least one early voting polling place in counties with fewer than twenty-five thousand registered voters.

2019-S9076 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S9076        REVISED 10/30/2020

SPONSOR: GIANARIS
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation enacting the "Make Voting
Easy Act" to require that the board of elections designate at least one
early voting polling place for every full increment of twenty-five thou-
sand registered voters in each county

 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation enacting the "Make Voting
Easy Act" to require that the board of elections designate at least one
early voting polling place for every full increment of twenty-five thou-
sand registered voters in each county

 
PURPOSE:

To require the board of elections to designate at least one early voting
polling place for every full increment of twenty-five thousand regis-

tered voters in each county.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one is the title.

Section two of the bill amends the election law by amending subdivision
2 of section 8-600 to require that the Board of Elections establish at
least one early voting polling place per 25,000 registered voters with
no maximum number of polling places.

Section three sets the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:


 
JUSTIFICATION:

After we succeeded in establishing Early Voting in 2019, long lines and
extraordinarily long wait times for early voters in the 2020 Presiden-
tial election demonstrated that the process must be improved.  The
lengthy wait times were the result of too few polling places for the
number of registered voters. Reducing overcrowding and long lines at the
polls is especially important in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic,
though a fast and easy early voting experience should be the standard
for any election. Under this proposal, a majority of counties would see
an increase in the number of polling locations.  Increasing the minimum
number of poll sites will better facilitate Early Voting across New York
State.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately and shall apply to any general, primary, run-off primary, or
special election held thereafter.

2019-S9076 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9076
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             October 30, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GIANARIS -- 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 enacting the "Make  Voting
   Easy  Act"  to  require that the board of elections designate at least
   one early voting polling place for every full increment of twenty-five
   thousand registered voters in each county

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "Make Voting Easy Act".
   § 2. 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]  TWENTY-FIVE  thousand  registered  voters  in  each  county;
 provided, [however, the number of early voting polling places in a coun-
 ty  shall  not  be required to be greater than seven, and] a county with
 fewer than [fifty] TWENTY-FIVE thousand voters shall have at  least  one
 early voting polling place.
   §  3.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any
 general, primary, run-off primary, or special election held thereafter.
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD17552-03-0

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