NY State Senate Bill 2025-S843A

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 06, 2026	print number 843a
May 06, 2026	amend (t) and recommit to elections
Jan 07, 2026	referred to elections
Jun 13, 2025	committed to rules
May 08, 2025	advanced to third reading
May 07, 2025	2nd report cal.
May 06, 2025	1st report cal.957
Jan 08, 2025	referred to elections

Votes

- May 6, 2025 - Elections Committee Vote
  S843A
  
  Aye
  
  5
  
  Nay
  
  2
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  
  0
  - - Elections Committee Vote: May 6, 2025
      
      aye (5)
      
      Brouk
      
      Gonzalez
      
      Kavanagh
      
      Mayer
      
      Myrie
      
      nay (2)
      
      Borrello
      
      Walczyk

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

co-Sponsors

2025-S843 - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6069
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3-300, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S6684, A7780
2023-2024: S644, A1258

2025-S843 - Summary

Requires a board of elections in a county with over ten thousand active registered voters to employ a minimum of four full-time employees which may include the commissioner and deputies if such positions are full time.

2025-S843 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S843

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to establishing minimum
staffing levels for local board of elections

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that each local board of elections
is properly staffed with an appropriate number of employees proportional
to the number of registered voters.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would require every board of elections to employ,
at a minimum, four full time employees in addition to the appointed
commissioners, within four years of the effective date; furthermore,
every board of elections shall employ two additional employees for every
full allotment of 20,000 active registered voters beyond 40,000 active
registered voters.

Section 2 of this bill provides that the effective date shall take
effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Voting is a part of an individual's civic duty. Participation in poli-
tical discourse and elections have increased over the past two years.
This is largely in part to the fact that New York State has taken affir-
mative action to increase voter participation and increase access to
voting.

Recent chapters allow for early voting, ballot drop boxes, and mail-in
voting. The State is also poised to adopt automatic voter registration,
same day registration, and a permanent no-fault absentee ballot program.
Many boards of elections currently rely on a combination of full-time
employees and temporary employees during election seasons. These new
programs require a full-time staff that is qualified, trained, and up to
date with current election law.

The State has assisted local boards with funding early voting initi-
atives, including, most recently, $2 million in additional funding for
Local Boards of Elections in the Adopted Budget FY 2021-2022. Most local
boards' current staffing structures already comply with this legis-
lation. This bill would ensure uniformity so that boards of elections
are equipped to handle the volume of voters in each area. Nothing in
this law would prohibit a board of elections from hiring more staff than
is required by this legislation.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S644 (Mannion) / A1258 (Hunter)

2021-2022: S6684 (Mannion) / A7780 (Hunter)

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S843 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    843
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MAY,  WEBB -- 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  establishing  minimum
   staffing levels for local board of elections

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 3-300 of the election law is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   §  3-300.  Board  employees;  appointment. 1. Every board of elections
 shall appoint, and at its pleasure remove, clerks, voting machine  tech-
 nicians,  custodians  and  other  employees, fix their number, prescribe
 their duties, fix their titles and rank  and  establish  their  salaries
 within  the  amounts appropriated therefor by the local legislative body
 and shall secure in  the  appointment  of  employees  of  the  board  of
 elections equal representation of the major political parties.
    2.  EVERY  BOARD  OF  ELECTIONS SHALL EMPLOY, AT A MINIMUM, FOUR FULL
 TIME EMPLOYEES IN ADDITION TO THE APPOINTED COMMISSIONERS,  WITHIN  FOUR
 YEARS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT
 EVERY  BOARD  OF ELECTIONS SHALL EMPLOY AT LEAST TWO FULL TIME EMPLOYEES
 WITHIN TWO YEARS OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.  EVERY BOARD
 OF ELECTIONS SHALL EMPLOY TWO ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR EVERY FULL ALLOT-
 MENT OF TWENTY THOUSAND ACTIVE REGISTERED VOTERS BEYOND  FORTY  THOUSAND
 ACTIVE REGISTERED VOTERS.
   3.  Every  commissioner  in each board of elections except for commis-
 sioners of the board of elections of the city of New York,  may  approve
 and  at  pleasure  remove  a  deputy,  establish  [his]  THEIR title and
 prescribe [his] THEIR duties. In the city of  New  York,  the  board  of
 elections  shall  appoint  an  executive director and a deputy executive
 director whose duties it shall be to supervise  the  operations  of  the
 board of elections under the supervision of such board.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03492-01-5

co-Sponsors

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6069
Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3-300, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S6684, A7780
2023-2024: S644, A1258

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S843A

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to establishing minimum
staffing levels for certain local board of elections

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This legislation would ensure that each local board of elections is
properly staffed with an appropriate number of employees proportional to
the number of registered voters.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill would amend section 3-300 of the election law to
require boards of elections to employ a minimum of 4 full time employees
and employ an additional 2 employees for every 20,000 active registered
voters.

Section two would establish the effective date.

 
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):

The a-print amendments would include full-time commissioners and full-
time deputies in the required number of full-time employees. The amend-
ments would also apply to a county that includes over ten thousand
active registered voters and remove the provision of beyond forty thou-
sand active voters. Additionally, boards of elections would be required
to hire two additional full-time employees annually within three years
of the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Voting is a part of an individual's civic duty. Participation in poli-
tical discourse and elections has increased over the past two years.
This is largely in part to the fact that New York State has taken affir-
mative action to increase voter participation and increase access to
voting.

Recent chapters, allow for early voting, ballot drop boxes, and mail in
voting. The State is also poised to adopt automatic voter registration,
same day registration, a permanent no-fault absentee ballot program.
Many boards of elections currently rely on a mix of full time employees
and temporary employees a full time staff who is qualified, trained, and
up to date with current election law.

The State has assisted local boards with funding early voting initi-
atives, including most recently, $2 million in additional funding for
Local Boards of Elections in the Adopted Budget FY 2021-2022. A majority
of local boards' current staffing structure already comply with this
legislation. This would ensure uniformity so that boards of elections
are equipped to handle the volume of voters in a given area. Nothing in
this law would prohibit a board of elections from hiring more staff than
as required by this legislation.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24: A1258A

2021-22: A7780A

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  843--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  MAY, COMRIE, FAHY, RIVERA, WEBB -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Elections  --  recommitted to the Committee on Elections in accordance
   with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend the election law, in relation to establishing minimum
   staffing levels for certain local board of elections
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  3-300  of the election law is amended to read as
 follows:
   § 3-300. Board employees; appointment. 1.  Every  board  of  elections
 shall  appoint, and at its pleasure remove, clerks, voting machine tech-
 nicians, custodians and other employees,  fix  their  number,  prescribe
 their  duties,  fix  their  titles and rank and establish their salaries
 within the amounts appropriated therefor by the local  legislative  body
 and  shall  secure  in  the  appointment  of  employees  of the board of
 elections equal representation of the major political parties.
   2. EVERY BOARD OF ELECTIONS OF A COUNTY THAT INCLUDES OVER  TEN  THOU-
 SAND ACTIVE REGISTERED VOTERS SHALL EMPLOY, AT A MINIMUM, FOUR FULL-TIME
 EMPLOYEES  INCLUSIVE  OF ANY FULL-TIME COMMISSIONERS AND FULL-TIME DEPU-
 TIES. EVERY BOARD OF ELECTIONS SHALL EMPLOY TWO ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR
 EVERY FULL ALLOTMENT OF TWENTY THOUSAND ACTIVE REGISTERED  VOTERS  UNDER
 ITS  JURISDICTION.    ANY BOARD OF ELECTIONS BELOW THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF
 EMPLOYEES REQUIRED BY THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL HIRE TWO  ADDITIONAL  FULL-
 TIME  EMPLOYEES  ANNUALLY UNTIL THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IS MET, PROVIDED
 THAT THE MINIMUM REQUIREMENT IS MET WITHIN THREE YEARS OF THE  EFFECTIVE
 DATE OF THIS SUBDIVISION.
   3.  Every  commissioner  in each board of elections except for commis-
 sioners of the board of elections of the city of New York,  may  approve
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD03492-03-6
 S. 843--A                           2
 
 and  at  pleasure  remove  a  deputy,  establish  [his]  THEIR title and
 prescribe [his] THEIR duties. In the city of  New  York,  the  board  of
 elections  shall  appoint  an  executive director and a deputy executive
 director  whose  duties  it  shall be to supervise the operations of the
 board of elections under the supervision of such board.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Find your Senator and share your views on important issues.

Do you support this bill?

Senate Bill S843A

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Actions

Votes

May 6, 2025 - Elections Committee Vote

Elections Committee Vote: May 6, 2025

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2025-S843 - Details

2025-S843 - Summary

2025-S843 - Sponsor Memo

2025-S843 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Do you support this bill?

Get Status Alerts for 2025-S843A

Senate Bill S843A

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Actions

Votes

Bill Amendments

co-Sponsors

2025-S843 - Details

2025-S843 - Summary

2025-S843 - Sponsor Memo

2025-S843 - Bill Text download pdf

co-Sponsors

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S843A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments