Senate Bill S6253A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6253--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 7, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Elections  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the election law, in relation to requiring state and
   county boards of elections to post sample ballots
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.    Subdivision  3 of section 7-118 of the election law, as
 separately amended by chapters 410 and 411  of  the  laws  of  2019,  is
 amended to read as follows:
   3.  Sample  ballots  may  be  mailed by the board of elections to each
 eligible voter at least three days before  the  [election,  or  in  lieu
 thereof,  a  copy  of  such sample ballot may be published at least once
 within one week preceding the election in newspapers  or  on  a  website
 maintained  by  the board of elections] FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING.  Each
 county board of elections shall transmit electronically in a  format  to
 be  determined  by  the  state board of elections, as it is available, a
 copy [of the candidate and contest information contained on each of  its
 ballot styles] OF A SAMPLE BALLOT FOR ALL ELECTION DISTRICTS WITHIN THAT
 COUNTY  to the state board of elections. [The state board shall create a
 system to allow such information to be made publicly available  via  its
 website, as well as the website of any county board of elections, and in
 such a way as to be accessible with a computer screen-reading program.]
   §  2.  Section  7-118 of the election law is amended by adding two new
 subdivisions 3-a and 3-b to read as follows:
   3-A. THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL POST A SAMPLE BALLOT FOR  EACH
 ELECTION  DISTRICT  IN  THE STATE ON THE BOARD'S WEBSITE AT LEAST TWELVE
 DAYS PRIOR TO THE FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING. THE BOARD SHALL  POST  SUCH
 SAMPLE  BALLOTS  IN  A SEARCHABLE DATABASE WHICH ALLOWS VOTERS TO OBTAIN
 POLLING SITE INFORMATION, VOTER DISTRICT INFORMATION AND A SAMPLE BALLOT
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD07649-03-5
              

 S. 6253--A                          2
 
 THAT SUCH VOTER SHALL BE ELIGIBLE TO CAST AT THE NEXT  ELECTION.  SAMPLE
 BALLOTS  SHALL  HAVE  AN EMBEDDED SECURITY TOOL TO PREVENT TAMPERING AND
 PRINTING OF SUCH SAMPLE BALLOTS.
   3-B.  EACH COUNTY BOARD OF ELECTIONS MAY POST A SAMPLE BALLOT FOR EACH
 ELECTION DISTRICT WITHIN THAT COUNTY AT LEAST TWELVE DAYS PRIOR  TO  THE
 FIRST DAY OF EARLY VOTING. A COUNTY BOARD THAT POSTS SUCH SAMPLE BALLOTS
 SHALL  DO SO IN A SEARCHABLE DATABASE THAT ALLOWS VOTERS TO OBTAIN POLL-
 ING SITE INFORMATION AND A SAMPLE BALLOT THAT SUCH VOTER SHALL BE ELIGI-
 BLE TO CAST IN THE NEXT ELECTION. SUCH  SAMPLE  BALLOTS  SHALL  HAVE  AN
 EMBEDDED SECURITY TOOL TO PREVENT TAMPERING AND PRINTING OF SUCH BALLOT.
 SUCH  COUNTY  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS  MAY ALSO REFER TO THE STATE BOARD OF
 ELECTIONS' WEBSITE FOR SUCH INFORMATION  TO  BE  DELIVERED  PURSUANT  TO
 SUBDIVISION THREE-A OF THIS SECTION.
   §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
 have become a law.