Assembly Bill A7480A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7480--A
                                                         Cal. No. 244
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               May 10, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. WALKER -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on  Election  Law  --  ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place on the order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the  representation  of
   newly formed political parties
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section  7-116  of  the  election  law  is
 amended to read as follows:
   1. In printing the names of candidates on the ballot, the candidate or
 candidates  of  the party which polled [for its candidate for the office
 of governor at the last preceding election for such office] the  highest
 number of votes FOR ITS CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OR FOR ITS SLATE OF PRES-
 IDENT  ELECTORS  AT THE MOST RECENT GENERAL ELECTION IN AN EVEN NUMBERED
 YEAR, shall be [row or] column A or one and the candidates of the  other
 parties  shall  be  placed  on  such  ballot in descending order of such
 votes.
   § 2. Section 6-124 of the election law, as amended by chapter  876  of
 the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
   §  6-124.  Conventions; judicial. A judicial district convention shall
 be constituted by the election at the preceding primary of delegates and
 alternate delegates, if any, from  each  assembly  district  or,  if  an
 assembly  district shall contain all or part of two or more counties and
 if the rules of the party shall so provide, separately from the part  of
 such  assembly district contained within each such county. The number of
 delegates and alternates, if any, shall be determined  by  party  rules,
 but  the  number  of delegates shall be substantially in accordance with
 the ratio, which the number of votes cast for the  party  candidate  for
 the  office  of governor, on the line or column of the party at the last
 preceding election for such office, in any unit of representation, bears
 to the total vote cast at such election for such candidate on such  line
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD11200-02-2
 A. 7480--A                          2
 
 or column in the entire state; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, FOR A NEW PARTY FORMED
 AT  A  PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, FOR SUCH PARTY'S JUDICIAL DISTRICT CONVEN-
 TION HELD IN THE SECOND YEAR AFTER THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION, SUCH RATIO
 SHALL BE BASED ON SUCH PARTY'S VOTE FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS, AS OTHER-
 WISE  AS  PROVIDED BY THIS SECTION, AND THEREAFTER BASED ON SUCH PARTY'S
 VOTE FOR THE OFFICE OF GOVERNOR.  The  number  of  alternates  from  any
 district shall not exceed the number of delegates therefrom.  The deleg-
 ates  certified  to have been elected as such, in the manner provided in
 this chapter, shall be conclusively entitled to their seats, rights  and
 votes as delegates to such convention. When a duly elected delegate does
 not attend the convention, his place shall be taken by one of the alter-
 nates,  if any, to be substituted in his place, in the order of the vote
 received by each such alternate as such vote appears upon the  certified
 list  and  if  an  equal  number of votes were cast for two or more such
 alternates; the order in which  such  alternates  shall  be  substituted
 shall  be  determined by lot forthwith upon the convening of the conven-
 tion. If there shall have been  no  contested  election  for  alternate,
 substitution  shall  be in the order in which the name of such alternate
 appears upon the certified list, and if no alternates  shall  have  been
 elected  or  if no alternates appear at such convention, then the deleg-
 ates present from the same district shall elect a  person  to  fill  the
 vacancy.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 2-104 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 260 of the laws of 2021, 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  as  the rules of the county
 committee of the party within the county or the statement filed pursuant
 hereto may provide for such district, proportional to the party vote  in
 the  district for governor at the last preceding gubernatorial election,
 OR IN THE CASE OF A NEW PARTY FORMED AT  A  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION  WHEN
 FIRST  ELECTING MEMBERS OF A COUNTY COMMITTEE, PROPORTIONAL TO THE PARTY
 VOTE IN THE DISTRICT FOR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS  AT  THE  LAST  PRECEDING
 PRESIDENTIAL  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 USED TO APPORTION MEMBERS,  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.
 A. 7480--A                          3
 
   § 4. Subdivision 5 of section 7-104 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
   5. Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision four of this section,
 the name of a person who is nominated for the office of PRESIDENT OF THE
 UNITED  STATES  (ELECTORS FOR), governor, or state senator, or member of
 assembly, shall appear on the ballot as many times as there are  parties
 or  independent bodies nominating him or her, and there shall be a sepa-
 rate voting position at each place in which such name shall appear.
   § 5. Subdivision 4 of section 6-104 of the election law is amended  to
 read as follows:
   4.  Upon  the  vote  for  such  designation,  each member of the state
 committee shall be entitled to cast a number of votes which shall be  in
 accordance  with  the ratio which the number of votes cast for the party
 candidate for governor on the line or column of the party  at  the  last
 preceding  general  state election in the unit of representation of such
 member bears to the total vote cast on  such  line  or  column  at  such
 election for such candidate in the entire state, OR IN THE CASE OF A NEW
 PARTY  FORMED  AT  A  PRESIDENTIAL  ELECTION,  EACH  MEMBER OF THE STATE
 COMMITTEE SHALL BE ENTITLED TO CAST A NUMBER OF VOTES WHICH SHALL BE  IN
 ACCORDANCE WITH THE RATIO WHICH THE NUMBER OF VOTES CAST FOR THE PARTY'S
 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS AT THE LAST PRECEDING PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION IN THE
 UNIT  OF  REPRESENTATION  OF SUCH MEMBER BEARS TO THE TOTAL VOTE CAST ON
 SUCH LINE OR COLUMN AT SUCH ELECTION FOR SUCH  ELECTORS  IN  THE  ENTIRE
 STATE, UNTIL SUCH TIME AS SUCH NEW PARTY HAS A PARTY VOTE FOR ITS CANDI-
 DATE  FOR  GOVERNOR.    The apportionment of such votes as so prescribed
 shall be determined by the rules of the party.
   § 6. The third undesignated paragraph of section 9-214 of the election
 law is amended to read as follows:
   The board of elections shall transmit to the state board, on or before
 the tenth day of December following an election for governor  OR  PRESI-
 DENTIAL   ELECTORS,   a   certified  tabulated  statement,  by  election
 districts, of the official canvass of the votes cast for candidates  for
 governor  OR  PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS, to include, in the case of a candi-
 date who was nominated by two or more parties or independent  bodies,  a
 separate  statement of the number of votes cast for [him] SUCH CANDIDATE
 as the candidate of each party or independent body by  which  [he]  SUCH
 CANDIDATE  was nominated and if the county contains more than one assem-
 bly district or parts of more than one assembly district, a statement of
 the number of votes cast for governor OR PRESIDENTIAL ELECTORS by assem-
 bly district.
   § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.