Senate Bill S1550

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S1550

SPONSOR: KENNEDY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to increasing the number
of days permitted for early voting

 
PURPOSE:

To expand, by one week, the time in which early voting occurs prior to
any general, primary, run-off primary, or special election.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 1 or section 8-600 of the election law, to
start early voting seventeen days prior to an election, and ending two
days prior to an election.

Section two sets the effective date.

              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The 2020 General Election saw over 2.2 million New Yorkers cast an
in-person, early vote ahead of election day, an all time record.'
Voters, concerned with a pandemic and the possibility of long lines on
election day, saw early voting as an opportunity to cast their vote in a
machine without the lines that often appear on election day.

However, early voting proved so popular that many locations saw lines
that were hours long in places across the state - from New York City to
Putnam and Monroe Counties to the City of Buffalo.2 Turnout was driven
by many factors, including the ease of early voting, the pandemic, and
voters' lack of confidence that their mail in ballot would arrive in
time.

As a solution, one proposal would be to give more time for voters to
vote early, so if they arrive at a polling place and face a long line,
they have many other opportunities to vote. In the 2020 General
Election, Michigan began early voting 45 days prior to the election,
Georgia started 22 days prior, and California started 29 days prior.3
New York's existing law, however, only permits 9 days of early voting. A
Buffalo News editorial after the 2020 General Election noted the
outbreak of COVID-19 from an early voting location in New York, and as a
solution suggested expanding the number of days of early voting so
voters would be confident they still had time to vote if a line was too
long.4 Additionally, the 2020 General Election saw record turnout, also
driven by the ease of early voting.  This shows that expanding early
voting is both a safe choice, and practical one. By starting early
voting 17 days, instead of 10 days, prior to an election, New Yorkers
will have an additional week to vote early.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
(1)https://apnews.com/article/virus- outbreak-new-york-new-york-city-
electio ns-voting-2020- 67bf8a18a30f873e4fdedde46cf3d17a
(2)https://www.lohud.com/storyinews/2020/10/29/
new-york-early-voting-long-lines/6054444002/
(3)https:llbuffalonews.com/opinionieditorial/ the-editorial-board-ham-
burg-s-infection-rate-
offers-evidence-ofalbany-s-error-in-limiting/article_69
ed6540-2e88-11eb-92c11-173d8fe996el.html
(4)https://buffalonews.com/opinioni editorial/the-editorial-board-
hamburg-s- infection-rate-offers-evidence-ofalbany-s-
error-in-limitinearticle69ed 6540-2e88- 11eb-92df-173d8fe996el.html