Senate Bill S1485A

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1485

SPONSOR: GAUGHRAN
 
TITLE OF BILL:

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

 
PURPOSE:

This bill amends previously enacted early voting provisions to provide
that New York's high population cities and towns outside of New York
City must contain at least one early voting polling location per full
increment of fifty thousand registered voters.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Amends § 8-600 of the Election Law to provide that, in cities
and towns (outside of New York City) which have a population which
exceeds one hundred thousand persons (per the latest federal decennial
census), such municipalities must contain at least one early voting
              

polling location per each full increment of fifty thousand registered
voters.

If such cities and towns contain public transportation routes, such
polling places must be situated along such transportation routes to the
extent practicable.

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 after the 2019
election cycle, the State Legislature discovered that the decisions of
county boards of elections have resulted in varying levels of access to
early voting based on which county a voter is located in and local
siting decisions. In some large counties, there were as few as .33 sites
per fifty thousand persons, or as many as 2 per fifty thousand (six
times the level of access to early voting in the latter vs the former).
At the municipal level, large cities and towns in the same region had as
many as 1.38 polling locations per fifty thousand persons, or as few as
.1 polling places for fifty thousand persons (13.8 times the level of
access in the latter vs the former), demonstrating a severe disparity in
access. The information demonstrates that, in some cases, voters living
in high population areas are not afforded the same level of access as
those who live in less densely populated areas, or that their level of
access may be based on some consideration other than the realities of
population density and how it affects access.

This legislation seeks to remedy this issue with regard to large cities
and towns by permitting for more equitable and evenly distributed access
to early voting polling locations across the state. The legislation
ensures that voters living in high population areas will not be disen-
franchised from the early voting system simply because of their residen-
cy in a large municipality, and will expand access in densely populated
areas.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-2020: S6923A/A9792 (Passed Senate 2020)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

There is no cost to the state.

 
LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.