Provides that a candidate who files a certificate of acceptance for an office for which there have been filed certificates or petitions designating more than one candidate for the nomination of any party, may thereafter file a certificate of declination not later than the seventh day after the primary election.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6711
SPONSOR: Simon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to nominating and desig-
nating petitions and certificates
PURPOSE:
To allow a candidate seeking to fill an office position in a general.
election the opportunity to decline a party designation upon conclusion
of the primary election.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 2 of Section 6-158 of the
election law, as amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1984,. to permit
candidates who file certificates of acceptance for an office to subse-
quently file a certificate of declination, so long as they do so not
later than the seventh day after the applicable primary election.
Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, a candidate for an office to be filled at the time of .a
general election has the ability to decline an independent nomination
after the primary election. No similar provision exists for a candidate
to decline a party designation after the primary election. As a result
of this. designated candidates who lost a party primary are forced to
remain on the ballot, regardless of whether they have opted to end
campaigning efforts or have endorsed another candidate. The presence of
a candidate on the ballot who has already resigned from the race serves
no other purpose than to siphon off votes from earnest candidates.
The lack of such a provision has also encouraged the practice of using
Supreme Court nominations to create a vacancy after a primary election.
Something as important as a judicial nomination should not be used as a
tool to remove a candidate who no longer wishes to run from a ballot.
This bill would make this practice unnecessary.
FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE: None
FISCAL IMPACT ON LOCALITIES:
None
IMPACT ON REGULATION OF BUSINESSES AND INDIVIDUALS:
None
IMPACT ON FINES, IMPRISONMENT, FORFEITURE OF RIGHTS, OR OTHER
PENAL SANCTIONS:
None
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-2022: A2052 Simon -Election Law
2020: A1400(Simon) - Election Law
2019: A1400(Simon) - Election Law
2018: A09761 (Simon) - Election Law
2017: A05951 (Kavanagh) - Election Law
2016: A05951(Kavanagh) - Election Law
2015: A05951(Kavanagh) - Election Law
2014: A00111 (Kavanagh)- Election Law
2013: A00111(Kavanagh)- Election Law
2012: A10789(Kavanagh)- Election Law
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6711
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMON -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to nominating and desig-
nating petitions and certificates
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 6-158 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 434 of the laws of 1984, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 2. A certificate of acceptance or declination of a designation shall
5 be filed not later than the fourth day after the last day to file such
6 designation, except that a candidate who files such a certificate of
7 acceptance for an office for which there have been filed certificates or
8 petitions designating more than one candidate for the nomination of any
9 party, may thereafter file a certificate of declination not later than
10 the seventh day after the primary election.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00083-01-3
