Regular Session - February 7, 2022
701
1 NEW YORK STATE SENATE
2
3
4 THE STENOGRAPHIC RECORD
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6
7
8
9 ALBANY, NEW YORK
10 February 7, 2022
11 3:03 p.m.
12
13
14 REGULAR SESSION
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16
17
18 LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR BRIAN A. BENJAMIN, President
19 ALEJANDRA N. PAULINO, ESQ., Secretary
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25
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1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 THE PRESIDENT: The Senate will
3 come to order.
4 I ask everyone present to please
5 rise and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.
6 (Whereupon, the assemblage recited
7 the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.)
8 THE PRESIDENT: In the absence of
9 clergy, let us bow our heads in a moment of
10 silent reflection or prayer.
11 (Whereupon, the assemblage respected
12 a moment of silence.)
13 THE PRESIDENT: Reading of the
14 Journal.
15 THE SECRETARY: In Senate, Sunday,
16 February 6, 2022, the Senate met pursuant to
17 adjournment. The Journal of Saturday,
18 February 5, 2022, was read and approved. On
19 motion, the Senate adjourned.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Without objection,
21 the Journal stands approved as read.
22 Presentation of petitions.
23 Messages from the Assembly.
24 The Secretary will read.
25 THE SECRETARY: Senator Hinchey
703
1 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
2 Assembly Bill Number 8732 and substitute it for
3 the identical Senate Bill 7890, Third Reading
4 Calendar 304.
5 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered.
6 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kaminsky
7 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
8 Assembly Bill Number 8716 and substitute it for
9 the identical Senate Bill 7781, Third Reading
10 Calendar 283.
11 THE PRESIDENT: So ordered.
12 Messages from the Governor.
13 Reports of standing committees.
14 Reports of select committees.
15 Communications and reports from
16 state officers.
17 Motions and resolutions.
18 Senator Gianaris.
19 SENATOR GIANARIS: Mr. President,
20 please recognize Senator Lanza for a motion.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Lanza.
22 SENATOR LANZA: Mr. President,
23 great to see you.
24 Mr. President, on motion by
25 Senator Gallivan, on page 32 I offer the
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1 following amendments to Calendar Number 415,
2 Senate Print 6549A, and ask that said bill retain
3 its place on Third Reading Calendar.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The amendments are
5 received, and the bill shall retain its place on
6 the Third Reading Calendar.
7 Senator Gianaris.
8 SENATOR GIANARIS: Please take up
9 the calendar now.
10 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
11 read.
12 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
13 2 --
14 SENATOR LANZA: Lay it aside.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside.
16 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 78,
17 Senate Print 1045, by Senator Ramos, an act to
18 amend the Labor Law.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
20 section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 5. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
705
1 results.
2 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
4 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
5 101, Senate Print 700, by Senator Hoylman, an act
6 to repeal Section 470 of the Judiciary Law.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
8 section.
9 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
10 act shall take effect immediately.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
12 (The Secretary called the roll.)
13 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
14 results.
15 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
16 Calendar 101, those Senators voting in the
17 negative are Senators Sanders and Skoufis.
18 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 112, Senate Print 1374, by Senator Sanders, an
22 act to amend the Public Health Law.
23 SENATOR GIANARIS: Lay it aside for
24 the day.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill will be
706
1 laid aside for the day.
2 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
3 191, Assembly Print Number 8714, by
4 Assemblymember Burke, an act to amend the
5 General Business Law.
6 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
7 section.
8 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
9 act shall take effect immediately.
10 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
11 (The Secretary called the roll.)
12 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Borrello to
13 explain his vote.
14 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
15 Mr. President. Good to see you again, sir.
16 I just want to speak briefly on
17 this. I did support this bill.
18 But I can tell you that the original
19 legislation, the so-called Security Guard Act, is
20 not what we have today. And what this bill does
21 today that the sponsor has put forward is try to
22 correct the idea that everyone should be a
23 licensed security guard.
24 Unfortunately, this bill only
25 applies to one specific area. But I can tell you
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1 from personal experience that this is a problem
2 for every single hospitality business in New York
3 State that has to employ someone who, whether
4 they check I.D. at a front door or work security
5 inside or at a gate, they have to go through this
6 licensing process.
7 So what's the problem? The problem
8 is there aren't enough people that actually want
9 to go through this process. And so what myself
10 and others have to do is hire private security
11 companies, where we're paying a lot more money
12 per hour than the actual person is getting that's
13 doing that job of security, because they are a
14 licensed security person.
15 This is something that New York
16 State instituted several years ago and has now
17 been converted to include so many other venues --
18 anyone that checks an I.D. at the front door of a
19 bar has to pay the following fees: A $36 initial
20 application fee; a $25 renewal fee; $102 for a
21 fingerprint fee. However, January 1st of this
22 year we lowered that from $102 to $101.75. We
23 saved them 25 cents. Who says New York State
24 isn't business-friendly.
25 There's a $25 employment status
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1 notification, a $25 duplicate license
2 registration request; a $25 change-of-status fee,
3 all paid to the State of New York. But on top of
4 that, you also have to pay a private company to
5 actually do the security guard training.
6 So to get one person licensed is
7 hundreds of dollars. And then they have to renew
8 those licenses. And rightly so, we are saying
9 we're not able to get, nor is it necessary to
10 have every person licensed in situations like the
11 Buffalo Bills Stadium.
12 So while I agree that we should make
13 this exception in this case, we should make this
14 exception for everybody: Not just one specific
15 public venue owned by a county, but for every
16 venue that faces this burdensome act, the
17 Security Guard Act, that has been essentially
18 twisted into something that that it was never
19 intended to be when it passed this chamber many,
20 many years ago.
21 So I would ask that we be concerned
22 not just for one very significant operation,
23 seasonal operation, but for every operation that
24 has to deal with this and the burdensome
25 regulations that this has created. We need to
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1 think about our small businesses. We need to
2 think about every single business in New York
3 State that's been devastated by this pandemic.
4 The hospitality industry was by far
5 the hardest hit by this pandemic. And it's
6 situations like this, where we've made an
7 exception for one while we've let every other
8 small business in New York State continue to
9 suffer, that is why New York State has a problem
10 being one of the worst places to do business in
11 the nation.
12 So I'm voting aye. However, I would
13 ask that we reconsider the whole Security Guard
14 Act.
15 Thank you, Mr. President.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Borrello to
17 be recorded in the affirmative.
18 Announce the results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar Number 191, voting in the negative:
21 Senator Skoufis.
22 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
24 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
25 232, Senate Print 482B, by Senator Persaud, an
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1 act to amend the Criminal Procedure Law.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
3 section.
4 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
5 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
6 shall have become a law.
7 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
8 (The Secretary called the roll.)
9 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
10 results.
11 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
13 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
14 235, Senate Print 1271, by Senator Brooks, an act
15 to amend the Vehicle and Traffic Law.
16 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
17 section.
18 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
19 act shall take effect immediately.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
23 results.
24 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
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1 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
2 267, Senate Print 6617, by Senator Gounardes, an
3 act to amend the State Finance Law.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
5 section.
6 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
7 act shall take effect January 1, 2023.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
9 (The Secretary called the roll.)
10 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
11 results.
12 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
13 Calendar Number 267, voting in the negative:
14 Senator Helming.
15 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
16 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
17 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
18 270, Senate Print 410A, by Senator Biaggi, an act
19 to establish a Minority Coordinating Council on
20 Asthmatic Affairs.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
22 section.
23 THE SECRETARY: Section 4. This
24 act shall take effect immediately.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
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1 (The Secretary called the roll.)
2 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
3 results.
4 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
5 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
6 (Pause.)
7 SENATOR GIANARIS: Can we lay
8 Calendar 281 aside temporarily, please.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Lay it aside
10 temporarily.
11 THE SECRETARY: Calendar
12 Number 283, Assembly Number 8716, by
13 Assemblymember Englebright, an act to amend the
14 Environmental Conservation Law.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
16 section.
17 THE SECRETARY: Section 6. This
18 act shall take effect on the 180th day after it
19 shall have become a law.
20 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
21 (The Secretary called the roll.)
22 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
23 results.
24 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
25 Calendar 283, those Senators voting in the
713
1 negative are Senators Gallivan, Lanza, O'Mara,
2 Ortt and Stec.
3 Ayes, 58. Nays, 5.
4 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
5 THE SECRETARY: Calendar
6 Number 304, Assembly Print Number 8732, by
7 Assemblymember Peoples-Stokes, an act to amend
8 the Public Health Law.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
10 section.
11 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
12 act shall take effect immediately.
13 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
14 (The Secretary called the roll.)
15 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
16 results.
17 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
18 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
19 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
20 307, Senate Print 1416, by Senator Harckham, an
21 act to amend the Mental Hygiene Law.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
23 section.
24 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
25 act shall take effect on the 30th day after it
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1 shall have become a law.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Harckham to
5 explain his vote.
6 SENATOR HARCKHAM: Thank you very
7 much, Mr. President. It's wonderful to see you
8 back in the chamber.
9 Recovery residences -- a cottage
10 industry, a booming industry in New York,
11 completely unregulated. Housing is a positive
12 determinant of successful recovery from substance
13 use disorder and, conversely, the absence of safe
14 housing can impact negatively recovery.
15 And we know recovery houses run the
16 gamut from being very safe to being very
17 disreputable and downright dangerous. We hear of
18 patients and families living in squalor in
19 basement apartments with little access to the
20 kind of services that they need to get back on
21 their feet and have a healthy recovery.
22 Employee Assistance Program has
23 reached out to us, and they want to reimburse
24 successful programs so that they see that their
25 members can get back on their feet. However, the
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1 absence of standards has hampered that vision.
2 And that's what this bill does. For
3 the first time, it will allow OASAS to create a
4 voluntary set of standards as to what a
5 successful recovery house should look like, what
6 the qualifications should be. And this is an
7 important step forward so that when people are
8 coming out of treatment, they and their families
9 will have a set of standards by which they can
10 judge the recovery residences they may need to go
11 to.
12 So I thank the Majority Leader for
13 advancing this bill, and I vote aye.
14 Thank you.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Harckham to
16 be recorded in the affirmative.
17 Announce the results.
18 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
19 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
20 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
21 330, Senate Print 4611, by Senator Comrie, an act
22 to amend the Public Authorities Law.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
24 section.
25 THE SECRETARY: Section 3. This
716
1 act shall take effect immediately.
2 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
3 (The Secretary called the roll.)
4 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
5 results.
6 THE SECRETARY: Ayes, 63.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
8 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
9 349, Senate Print 6667, by Senator Breslin, an
10 act to amend the Insurance Law.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
12 section.
13 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
14 act shall take effect immediately.
15 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
16 (The Secretary called the roll.)
17 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
18 results.
19 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
20 Calendar Number 349, voting in the negative:
21 Senator Skoufis.
22 Ayes, 62. Nays, 1.
23 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
24 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
25 reading of today's calendar.
717
1 SENATOR GIANARIS: Before we leave
2 the calendar, can we go back to Calendar 281,
3 remove the lay-aside and take that up.
4 THE PRESIDENT: There is a
5 substitution at the desk.
6 The Secretary will read.
7 THE SECRETARY: Senator Kaplan
8 moves to discharge, from the Committee on Rules,
9 Assembly Bill Number 8847 and substitute it for
10 the identical Senate Bill 7769, Third Reading
11 Calendar 281.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The substitution is
13 so ordered.
14 The Secretary will read.
15 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number
16 281, Assembly Print Number 8847, by
17 Assemblymember Sillitti, an act to amend a
18 chapter of the Laws of 2021.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Read the last
20 section.
21 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
22 act shall take effect immediately.
23 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
24 (The Secretary called the roll.)
25 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
718
1 results.
2 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
3 Calendar Number 281, voting in the negative:
4 Senators Lanza and Ortt.
5 Ayes, 61. Nays, 2.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
7 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
8 reading of today's calendar.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Let's move on to
10 the controversial calendar, please.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The Secretary will
12 ring the bell.
13 The Secretary will read.
14 THE SECRETARY: Calendar Number 2,
15 Senate Print 284B, by Senator Myrie, an act to
16 amend the Election Law.
17 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Borrello.
18 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
19 Mr. President. Would the sponsor yield for a
20 question.
21 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
22 yield?
23 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
24 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
25 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you very
719
1 much.
2 Hello, Senator Myrie. Good to see
3 you again.
4 Let me just start off by asking --
5 you know, I understand the intent of this bill:
6 If someone shows up at the wrong polling place,
7 that they would still be able to cast a ballot.
8 But can you explain the
9 difference -- because this is something we did
10 last year -- can you explain the difference
11 between the A print and the B print? In other
12 words, the amendment that we now have in front of
13 us?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Sure.
15 The B print reflects a change in the
16 laws as it pertains to canvassing of ballots. We
17 passed that last year, had to adjust this. It's
18 a technical amendment as well as a change to the
19 effective date. The A print had an effective
20 date of immediately. This has an effective date
21 of 120 days after the bill shall become law.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
23 Mr. President, will the sponsor
24 yield for another question.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
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1 yield?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: Yes, thank you.
5 So we've got a little bit more time to implement
6 this, is what it sounds like.
7 But let me just walk through the
8 entire bill and ask -- you know, we have a lot of
9 elections, several layers of government. We've
10 got school boards, we've got village elections,
11 we've got local, county, state.
12 So does this particular bill, which
13 will require -- would allow someone to show up in
14 the wrong place and still be able to cast a
15 ballot, will that apply to every election in
16 New York State -- school board, village
17 elections, everything?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
19 Mr. President, this bill does not allow any voter
20 to vote for an election in which they are not
21 eligible to vote for.
22 Let me give an example. If you show
23 up to the wrong polling place, you cannot vote
24 for any of the local elections that you mentioned
25 that you would not be eligible for, period.
721
1 However, if you showed up in the
2 same county and you were voting for a countywide
3 election or a statewide election, you would still
4 be eligible to vote.
5 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
6 Mr. President, will the sponsor
7 continue to yield.
8 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
9 yield?
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes. Yes.
11 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
13 Mr. President. All right, so you show up in the
14 wrong location, you still want to cast a ballot,
15 but it's likely that you may not be eligible. So
16 let's say you show up in the wrong polling place
17 and you may not be eligible to vote for, say,
18 Senate and Assembly, but you would be eligible to
19 vote for, say, a local election.
20 Is the Board of Elections required
21 to tell that voter that their votes won't count?
22 In other words, even if they do mark those Senate
23 and Assembly, you know elections, votes, are they
24 required to be told that those won't count?
25 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
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1 Mr. President. The status quo now is that that
2 ballot, the hypothetical ballot that my colleague
3 proposes would be thrown out in its entirety even
4 if there were votes cast for offices that that
5 individual was eligible to vote for.
6 The affidavit process as it stands
7 now, we believe -- not we believe, it actually is
8 borne out by the data -- disenfranchises
9 individuals who show up in the wrong polling
10 place and are given wrong instructions by poll
11 workers or the boards of elections.
12 This does not -- it bears repeating,
13 does not allow any eligible voter to vote in an
14 election in which they are not eligible to vote
15 for.
16 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you.
17 Mr. President, will the sponsor
18 continue to yield.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
20 yield?
21 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
22 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: So prior to the
24 passing of this bill, if someone showed up at the
25 wrong polling place, they would be told: This is
723
1 not your polling place and if you vote here, your
2 vote won't count, so you need to go to the proper
3 polling place so that your vote does count.
4 So what this bill is essentially
5 doing is you're almost disenfranchising someone.
6 Because they're going to show up, they're going
7 to cast a ballot, it's going to be an affidavit
8 ballot, and then after Election Day they may find
9 out that their ballot was invalidated because
10 they did not vote correctly. And there's no
11 requirement here for BOE or the poll workers to
12 tell those folks that they have cast an invalid
13 ballot.
14 So aren't we disenfranchising folks
15 by initiating this law?
16 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
17 Mr. President. Thankfully we do not have to
18 hypothesize about disenfranchisement. The status
19 quo right now, in 2020, disenfranchised almost
20 14,000 voters across the State of New York who
21 showed up in the wrong polling place but who had
22 the ability to vote for some of those offices
23 that were on the ballot.
24 This bill is an attempt to rectify
25 that, to allow for individuals who can vote for
724
1 that particular race on that particular ballot,
2 to do so. This isn't hyperbole, it's already
3 happening now. Voters are already showing up to
4 polling places and having their votes thrown out
5 by way of affidavit ballot. This bill just seeks
6 something to correct that.
7 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
8 will the sponsor yield for another question.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
10 yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: Through you,
14 Mr. President. Okay, so you said 14,000 people
15 were disenfranchised. But what actually happened
16 was 14,000 people showed up at the wrong polling
17 site, were told "This is not your polling site,"
18 and then hopefully they went, in the 10 days that
19 they have to vote in New York State, they went
20 and voted at the proper location.
21 With this current bill, that's not
22 going to happen, nor is anyone required to be
23 told that their vote may not count or their
24 entire ballot could be thrown out. So you're
25 actually going to -- those 14,000 people weren't
725
1 disenfranchised. They showed up at the wrong
2 location, and I would imagine most of them went
3 somewhere else and voted properly in the place
4 that they were supposed to vote. So I question
5 whether or not there's disenfranchisement.
6 But there will be, under this bill,
7 if someone is not told that if you cast every
8 vote, even the ones that you're not eligible for,
9 your ballot will be thrown away.
10 SENATOR MYRIE: Is there a
11 question, Mr. President?
12 SENATOR BORRELLO: The question is,
13 is someone going to tell them -- sorry, I got a
14 little carried away. Is someone going to tell
15 them that they're actually going to have their
16 ballot thrown away if they cast the incorrect,
17 ineligible votes? Like, for example, for Senate
18 and Assembly in a district that they're outside
19 of.
20 SENATOR MYRIE: Through you,
21 Mr. President. Again, I remain a little confused
22 by the questioning, but I will say this, that the
23 votes that individuals have had cast for the
24 elections in which they were eligible to vote
25 for, the status quo right now has it such that
726
1 they -- even for the offices for which they can
2 vote for, the entire affidavit ballot is set
3 aside.
4 This isn't -- this doesn't mean
5 making up disenfranchisement. In the
6 22nd Congressional District, one which was
7 infamous for many irregularities that occurred,
8 the judge in that case pointed to this very
9 instance, where many voters -- and as you might
10 recall, that vote was decided by less than
11 200 votes -- many voters who were eligible to
12 vote simply had their votes set aside because
13 they showed up in the wrong polling place.
14 I want to underscore again how
15 important it is for individuals, if they are
16 eligible to vote, for them to be able to do that.
17 And let me also say that I find the
18 line of questioning curious given the posture
19 last week and given how much wailing and gnashing
20 of teeth there was at disenfranchisement and the
21 alleged affronts to democracy.
22 Here we have a bill where it is
23 proven that individuals who wanted to vote could
24 not vote. We have changed the law -- or we're
25 proposing to change the law to allow those
727
1 individuals to vote. It's simply giving them --
2 eligible voters -- the opportunity to do so.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
4 if the sponsor will continue to yield.
5 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
6 yield?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
8 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
9 SENATOR BORRELLO: So let me ask
10 this a different way; maybe it will be a little
11 clearer.
12 Under the current law, if I show up
13 in a polling place where I am not an eligible
14 voter, I am told that "You are not an eligible
15 voter here. You need to go find your proper
16 polling place."
17 Now, under this new law, I will show
18 up at the wrong polling place and I will be
19 handed a ballot. Number one, do we even know
20 that -- say it's a village election -- if they
21 have the equipment to print an on-demand ballot.
22 And if they don't, they're going to hand them the
23 ballot at that location. And let's just say
24 hypothetically that I am not eligible to vote for
25 the Senate and Assemblymember, but I am eligible
728
1 to vote for the local judge race or town
2 supervisor race.
3 And is that poll worker, when they
4 hand them that ballot, going to tell them "Don't
5 vote for Senate and Assembly, otherwise your
6 entire ballot will be invalidated"?
7 SENATOR MYRIE: I can't speak to
8 the hypothetical that you are proposing,
9 Senator Borrello. I can't conjure up every
10 scenario in which a poll worker will be
11 communicating to an individual voter.
12 We do know that the overwhelming
13 majority of individuals that look to participate
14 in their democracy show up to the correct place.
15 But in the instance that they don't, this is an
16 attempt to allow for their ballot to still count
17 for the races that they can still vote for.
18 I'm not sure if you're suggesting
19 that we keep the status quo such that if a person
20 happened to show up in the wrong polling place,
21 that they have no opportunity to participate in
22 their democracy. Are you suggesting that that is
23 the better alternative, as opposed to allowing
24 them to vote for the eligible races that they
25 would like to vote for?
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1 SENATOR BORRELLO: Is that a
2 question for me?
3 Will the sponsor continue to yield.
4 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
5 yield?
6 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
7 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
8 SENATOR BORRELLO: All right. So I
9 guess what we have is that right now, if someone
10 shows up at the wrong polling place, they'll be
11 told "This is the wrong place." And then they
12 will be afforded that opportunity to go to the
13 correct polling place.
14 So those 14,000 examples that you
15 gave previously -- I wouldn't know the data, but
16 I would imagine that most of those people just
17 went to the right polling place.
18 But under this change of the law,
19 they will not. They will say, "Give me a
20 ballot."
21 And when you say you can't -- you
22 know, you can't think of every possible scenario,
23 I think this is a very real scenario. The real
24 scenario is does this bill ask that rules are
25 promulgated to ensure that poll workers and
730
1 boards of elections instruct people that you are
2 at the wrong polling place, and if you cast the
3 following votes, your entire ballot will be
4 invalidated? Which is what the bill says.
5 So there's a much higher chance of
6 disenfranchising someone under that scenario than
7 simply telling them "You're at the wrong polling
8 place, and you should go try and go to the
9 correct polling place." Wouldn't that be the
10 case?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: I would disagree
12 with the premise of your argument that this bill
13 disenfranchises more people than are currently
14 disenfranchised.
15 I think the -- where we are having
16 the disconnect is the assumptions built into
17 where people go to the wrong polling location. I
18 think in your hypotheticals every single person
19 that is told by a poll worker that this is the
20 wrong polling location immediately then goes to
21 the correct polling location.
22 But you know this, I think all of us
23 are somewhat familiar with voter behavior,
24 particularly for working-class voters,
25 particularly for voters who have other
731
1 obligations and don't have the time to hop from
2 polling location to polling location, that this
3 again is an attempt to correct what we believe to
4 be a hole in the law that disallows individuals
5 to vote in races that they are eligible to vote
6 for.
7 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
8 will the sponsor continue to yield.
9 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
10 yield?
11 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
12 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
13 SENATOR BORRELLO: So the next
14 question is, then, how will this work
15 procedurally if the polling site doesn't have an
16 on-demand printer to be able to print out the
17 correct ballot?
18 SENATOR MYRIE: The status quo now
19 is that an affidavit ballot be provided.
20 So I'm not sure what exactly you're
21 asking regarding on-demand ballot location.
22 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
23 will the sponsor continue to yield.
24 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
25 yield?
732
1 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
2 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: So just to
4 clarify, is the boards of elections -- are they
5 going to be required to essentially take that
6 ballot and, you know, ensure that it's in the
7 right spot? I mean, that's my question.
8 They're not -- if they don't have an
9 on-demand printer, they're going to print out
10 essentially the wrong ballot or hand somebody the
11 wrong ballot. What's the BOE's responsibility at
12 that point to ensure that it's actually a valid
13 ballot?
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Thank you for that.
15 So you vote on the ballot that is
16 given to you at the polling site. The votes that
17 you are eligible to be counted in will be
18 counted, and the offices that you are not
19 eligible to vote in will not be counted.
20 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
21 will the sponsor continue to yield.
22 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
23 yield?
24 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
25 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
733
1 SENATOR BORRELLO: I believe the
2 bill actually reads -- if you go to line 9 of the
3 bill, which is the new text that was added in
4 your bill, it says that if they vote on those
5 lines that they're not eligible for, the entire
6 ballot is invalidated.
7 So you're saying that if you vote
8 for, say, Senate and Assembly and you're not in
9 the Senate and Assembly district, you said that
10 we're just going to count the ones that are in
11 their district. But according to line 9 and 10,
12 it looks like they'll be thrown out.
13 SENATOR MYRIE: I didn't hear a
14 question.
15 But through you, Mr. President, the
16 line reads "provided that such votes shall not be
17 cast and canvassed" -- it's the key phrase --
18 "for such contests for which the person was not
19 entitled to vote." Which is exactly what we've
20 been saying this entire time.
21 The converse of that is if you are
22 entitled to vote, it will count.
23 SENATOR BORRELLO: Mr. President,
24 will the sponsor continue to yield.
25 THE PRESIDENT: Does the sponsor
734
1 yield?
2 SENATOR MYRIE: Yes.
3 THE PRESIDENT: The sponsor yields.
4 SENATOR BORRELLO: I'm going to
5 move on at this point.
6 So I show up at Village A and I live
7 in Village B. Village A doesn't have an
8 on-demand printer, but I want to vote. They hand
9 me a ballot. I say I'm so-and-so. Do I have to
10 show an I.D. -- since I'm not in my proper
11 polling site, do I have to show identification to
12 ensure that I am who I say I am? That's the
13 question.
14 SENATOR MYRIE: Are you asking what
15 the affidavit ballot process is? Because this
16 doesn't --
17 SENATOR BORRELLO: I'm asking a
18 very simple question. Do I have to show I.D.?
19 Because I'm showing up at a poll site where I'm
20 actually not in the books. So do I have to show
21 an I.D. to prove who I am?
22 (Pause.)
23 SENATOR MYRIE: No.
24 SENATOR BORRELLO: Okay.
25 Mr. President, on the bill.
735
1 THE PRESIDENT: Senator Borrello on
2 the bill.
3 SENATOR BORRELLO: Thank you,
4 Senator Myrie, for engaging today.
5 So I guess I have to ask the
6 question of, you know, is -- the cost versus the
7 benefit. The risk versus the reward. When
8 you're a business owner, that's the basic
9 analysis, the risk versus the reward.
10 What I heard today was my ballot
11 might be in jeopardy if I show up somewhere,
12 because there's nothing in this legislation that
13 instructs the poll worker or the Board of
14 Elections to tell someone that you're in the
15 wrong place, we're going to hand you a ballot
16 that may have elections on it that you're not
17 actually eligible to vote for, and they're going
18 to cast that ballot anyway. Because no one is
19 required to say anything to that voter, not even
20 "You're in the wrong place."
21 Under the current law, you will be
22 told "You are not eligible to vote here." And I
23 would say the vast majority of people would, in
24 the 10 days that they have to vote in New York
25 State, will just go to their proper polling
736
1 place.
2 But now we're going to muck up the
3 waters, because the last election there were
4 14,000 people -- out of the 20 million people in
5 New York State, 14,000 of them showed up at the
6 wrong poll site.
7 So instead of just saying we're
8 going to help those people, why don't we have a
9 map or a book or an app that shows those people
10 where to go, where their proper site is, the poll
11 site is? Because I can only see this really
12 happening to people that moved into a new area.
13 I voted in the same location for the entire time
14 that I've lived where I am.
15 But instead, we're going to upend
16 the whole system. We're going to create
17 confusion. We're going to jeopardize the fact
18 that is that ballot really going to be counted or
19 not. Is that voter going to know that their
20 ballot was invalidated? Were they
21 disenfranchised? We're not going to know any of
22 that because of this bill.
23 So the sponsor keeps referring to
24 the status quo. I think the status quo -- yeah.
25 Because under the current law, the status quo is
737
1 I will be told that this is not the correct
2 polling place. Now, after this bill passes,
3 which I'm assuming it will, they're not going to
4 be told anything. They're going to be handed a
5 ballot and they're going to vote for people who
6 may or may not be people they're allowed to vote
7 for because of where they're actually registered
8 to vote. All so that we can essentially cater to
9 what has to be 1/100th of a percent of the
10 population.
11 So I understand that we want to
12 give -- ensure that people are enfranchised, that
13 they're able to vote. But by creating more chaos
14 and confusion and uncertainty, that's not
15 ensuring that. And clearly, based on the
16 discussion today, there will be folks that are
17 disenfranchised, that will cast ballots in
18 elections that they're not eligible to cast
19 ballots in.
20 And that we're just hoping that
21 somewhere along the way the Board of Elections
22 will figure out that, number one, that's not a
23 valid ballot, and that, number two, they'll
24 separate out the right from the wrong and then
25 make sure that the two that they're eligible for
738
1 out of the six, that they somehow -- that those
2 votes get properly counted.
3 I think that's asking a lot when the
4 simple solution is what we do now: You're not in
5 the right place, please go vote at the proper
6 place. That's just common sense. This is just
7 more confusion and creates more opportunity for
8 things to go wrong.
9 So Mr. President, with that said,
10 I'm going to vote no. Thank you.
11 THE PRESIDENT: Are there any other
12 Senators wishing to be heard?
13 Seeing and hearing none, debate is
14 closed. The Secretary will ring the bell.
15 Read the last section.
16 THE SECRETARY: Section 2. This
17 act shall take effect on the 120th day after it
18 shall have become a law.
19 THE PRESIDENT: Call the roll.
20 (The Secretary called the roll.)
21 THE PRESIDENT: Announce the
22 results.
23 THE SECRETARY: In relation to
24 Calendar Number 2, those Senators voting in the
25 negative are Senators Akshar, Borrello, Boyle,
739
1 Gallivan, Griffo, Helming, Jordan, Lanza,
2 Martucci, Mattera, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt,
3 Palumbo, Rath, Ritchie, Serino, Stec, Tedisco and
4 Weik.
5 Ayes, 43. Nays, 20.
6 THE PRESIDENT: The bill is passed.
7 Senator Gianaris, that completes the
8 reading of the controversial calendar.
9 SENATOR GIANARIS: Is there any
10 further business at the desk today?
11 THE PRESIDENT: There is no further
12 business at the desk.
13 SENATOR GIANARIS: I move to
14 adjourn until tomorrow, Tuesday, February 8th, at
15 3:00 p.m.
16 THE PRESIDENT: On motion, the
17 Senate stands adjourned until Tuesday,
18 February 8th, at 3:00 p.m.
19 (Whereupon, at 3:36 p.m., the Senate
20 adjourned.)
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