Assembly Bill A6723

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   6723
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 11, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BOLOGNA -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Election Law
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law,  in  relation  to  authorizing  public
   school buildings to reject a designation as a polling place
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. 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 BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES SHALL  DESIG-
 NATE  ANY  PUBLIC BUILDING AS A POLLING PLACE TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE.
 IF ADDITIONAL POLLING PLACES SHALL BE NEEDED,  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 designating such building
 determines are accessible to physically disabled voters as  provided  in
 subdivision  one-a  OF  THIS  SECTION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, NOT LATER THAN
 FORTY-FIVE DAYS AFTER A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING RECEIVES  NOTICE  OF  ITS
 DESIGNATION  AS A POLLING PLACE, THE BOARD OR AGENCY WHICH CONTROLS SUCH
 BUILDING MAY FILE A CERTIFIED  RESOLUTION  REJECTING  SUCH  DESIGNATION,
 UPON  ADOPTION  OF  A  RESOLUTION  FOLLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING, WITH SUCH
 BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES. NOTWITHSTANDING THE
 PROVISIONS OF ANY GENERAL, SPECIAL, OR LOCAL  LAW,  A  BOARD  OR  AGENCY
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05563-01-5
              

 A. 6723                             2
 
 WHICH  CONTROLS  A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, UPON ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION
 FOLLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING, MAY NOTIFY A  BOARD  OR  BODY  EMPOWERED  TO
 DESIGNATE  POLLING  PLACES BY AN AFFIRMATIVE CERTIFIED RESOLUTION THAT A
 CERTAIN  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BUILDING  SHALL  NOT BE DESIGNATED AS A POLLING
 PLACE. 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 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 conven-
 ient 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 cancella-
 tion 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.
   § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 8-600 of  the  election
 law,  as  amended by chapter 781 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read
 as follows:
   (a) The board of elections shall designate polling  places  for  early
 voting,  which  may  include  the offices of the board of elections, for
 persons to vote early pursuant to this title.  PROVIDED, HOWEVER, SHOULD
 THE BOARD OF ELECTIONS DESIGNATE A PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING AS  A  POLLING
 PLACE FOR EARLY VOTING, THE BOARD OR AGENCY WHICH CONTROLS SUCH BUILDING
 MAY  FILE  A  CERTIFIED  RESOLUTION  REJECTING  SUCH  DESIGNATION,  UPON
 ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOLLOWING A PUBLIC HEARING, WITH THE  BOARD  OF
 ELECTIONS  WITHIN FORTY-FIVE DAYS OF RECEIVING NOTICE OF ITS DESIGNATION
 AS AN EARLY VOTING POLLING PLACE.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF ANY
 GENERAL, SPECIAL, OR LOCAL LAW, A  BOARD  OR  AGENCY  WHICH  CONTROLS  A
 PUBLIC SCHOOL BUILDING, UPON ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION FOLLOWING A PUBLIC
 HEARING,  MAY NOTIFY A BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE EARLY VOTING
 POLLING PLACES BY AN AFFIRMATIVE CERTIFIED  RESOLUTION  THAT  A  CERTAIN
 PUBLIC  SCHOOL BUILDING SHALL NOT BE DESIGNATED AS AN EARLY VOTING POLL-
 ING PLACE.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.