Senate Bill S4604

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4604
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 13, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  LANZA  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to exempting public school
   buildings from being designated as early polling locations
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  2  of  section  8-600 of the election law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph (i) to read as follows:
   (I) NO PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING SHALL BE DESIGNATED AS AN EARLY  POLLING
 LOCATION.
   § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104 of the election law, as amended by
 chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as follows:
   3.  A building exempt from taxation shall be used whenever possible as
 a polling place if it is situated in the same or a  contiguous  election
 district,  and may contain as many distinctly separate polling places as
 public convenience may require. The expense, if any, incidental  to  its
 use,  shall be paid like the expense of other places of registration and
 voting. If a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses
 a public school building for such purpose, the  board  or  agency  which
 controls  such  building  must  make  available  a room or rooms in such
 building which are suitable for registration and voting and which are as
 close as possible to a convenient entrance to  such  building  and  must
 make  available any such room or rooms which the board or body designat-
 ing such building  determines  are  accessible  to  physically  disabled
 voters  as provided in subdivision one-a OF THIS SECTION.  NOTWITHSTAND-
 ING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION, NO BOARD OR  BODY  EMPOWERED  TO
 DESIGNATE  POLLING PLACES SHALL DESIGNATE A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING AS AN
 EARLY POLLING LOCATION. Notwithstanding the provisions of  any  general,
 special  or local law, if a board or body empowered to designate polling
 places chooses a publicly owned or leased building, other than a  public
 school building, for such purposes the board or body which controls such
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08650-01-3
              

 S. 4604                             2
 
 building  must make available a room or rooms in such building which are
 suitable for registration and voting and which are as close as  possible
 to  a  convenient entrance to such building, and must make available any
 such  room  or  rooms  which the board or body designating such building
 determines are accessible to  physically  disabled  voters  unless,  not
 later  than  thirty  days  after  notice of its designation as a polling
 place, the board or body controlling  such  building,  files  a  written
 request  for  a  cancellation of such designation with the board or body
 empowered to designate polling places on such form as shall be  provided
 by  the  board  or  body  making  such  designation.  The  board or body
 empowered to so designate shall, within twenty days after  such  request
 is  filed, determine whether the use of such building as a polling place
 would unreasonably interfere with the usual activities conducted in such
 building and upon such determination, may cancel such designation.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.