BILL NUMBER: S4496

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring SUNY and
CUNY institutions to award course credit to students who serve as
election inspectors, poll clerks or election coordinators

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To incentivize greater civic participation among college students as
well as address New York's critical shortage of poll workers by granting
SUNY and CUNY students course credit for working at polling sites during
elections

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill adds a new subdivision 22 to section 355 of the
Education Law to provide that SUNY shall consult with boards of
elections to adopt a policy requiring that each SUNY campus grant course
credit to students for their service as an election inspector, poll
              

clerk, or election coordinator at a polling site in this state.  The
policy shall include a verification procedure for students claiming
credit.

Section two of the bill adds a new subdivision 22 to section 6206 of the
Education Law to provide that CUNY shall consult with boards of
elections to adopt a policy requiring that each CUNY campus grant course
credit to students for their service as an election inspector, poll
clerk, or education coordinator at a polling site in this state.  The
policy shall include a verification procedure for students claiming
credit.

Section three sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New York's public university systems, the State University of New York
(SUNY) and City University of New York (CUNY), have always sought to
encourage greater civic participation among their student populations
through initiatives such as the CUNY Civic Engagement Internship
Program, which provides paid opportunities for students who gather
information and analyze data for city government, or the SUNY All-In
Democracy Challenge, wherein campuses develop civic plans for candidate
forums, local voter registration drives, naturalization ceremonies for
new citizens, and a plan to join local boards of organizations.  Addi-
tionally, SUNY and CUNY have historically played a pivotal role in host-
ing local elections, with CUNY offering up nine of their campuses to
serve as early voting and Election Day polling places in the 2020 presi-
dential election. Since then, the legislature has passed a policy that
all colleges with 300 or more students must include a polling place
either on site or at an adjacent property as part of the FY23 Enacted
Budget, seeking to further involve college students in the democratic
process while smoothing election administration.

At the same time, the state has experienced a dire shortage in the
number of poll workers of late, in part due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In February 2022, elections commissioners in Chautauqua County upstate
reported a payroll of 400 poll workers a season, 100 short of the number
they would need to smoothly run the midterm election. Many Astoria,
Queens poll sites in June 2021, meanwhile, sat nearly empty, with less
than half of the needed personnel available to help voters navigate the
polling booths on Election Day.  The sharp decline in poll worker
numbers has also exacerbated New York City's language access crisis,
making it even more difficult for the local board of elections to
acquire the translation services it desperately needs for the estimated
1.8 million New York City residents who are not English proficient.

This bill, which grants SUNY and CUNY students course credit for serving
as a poll worker, addresses New York State's election worker crisis
while helping to foster greater public participation among student
bodies. In directing the appropriate boards of elections to coordinate a
poll worker program with local universities, this bill seeks to provide
a direct pipeline of young and eager talent to desperately understaffed
polling stations while helping rear a civic-minded society to the bene-
fit of all New Yorkers.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2022: S9058 - Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediate