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A08610 Summary:

BILL NOA08610B
 
SAME ASSAME AS S08782
 
SPONSORMcDonald
 
COSPNSRFahy, D'Urso, Englebright, Griffin, Jaffee, Rozic, Jacobson, DeStefano, Seawright, Mosley, Thiele, Galef, Cruz, Blake, Steck, Otis
 
MLTSPNSRLawrence
 
Amd 8-600, El L
 
Requires municipalities with the highest population in each county to have at least one polling place designated for early voting.
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A08610 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8610B
 
SPONSOR: McDonald
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring munici- palities with the highest population in each county to have at least one polling place designated for early voting   PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL: This bill amends previously enacted early voting provisions to provide that, in each county, the largest municipality by population must contain at least one early voting polling location.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1: Amends § 8-600 of the Election Law to provide that the muni- cipality with the highest population in each county based on the latest federal decennial census shall have at least one polling place desig- nated for early voting, and to the extent practicable if such munici- pality has public transportation routes, such polling place shall be situated along such transportation routes. Section 2: Effective date.   DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION ( IF APPLICABLE): The amended version makes a change to the effective date.   EXISTING LAW: Currently, the board of elections in each county must designate early voting locations. There must be at least one early voting location for every full increment of 50,000 voters in each county, with a maximum required number of locations in each county set at seven. Polling plac- es for early voting should be located so that voters in the county have adequate and equitable access, taking into consideration population density, travel time to the polling place, proximity to other early voting poll sites, public transportation routes, commuter traffic patterns, and other such factors the board of elections deems appropri- ate.   JUSTIFICATION: In 2019, New York state lawmakers took historic steps in approving a series of reforms intended to make New York's voting process easier, more efficient, more transparent, and more accountable to its citizens. Among these reforms were the scheduling of state and federal primaries on the same day, automatic updating of voters' registrations when they move, preregistration of those ages 16 and 17 prior to an election in which they will be eligible to vote, and requirements that established 10 days of early voting which includes two full weekends prior to elections. With regard to early voting, the intent of the legislature was to provide a flexible timeline within which voters can cast their ballots, taking into account the reality that voters often have busy schedules, ,vacations, and family obligations that can get in the way of voting on election day. Early voting provides flexibility and a longer voting process that encourages civic involvement by New York's citizens. Key components of ensuring the success and accessibility of early voting are the location and number of polling sites. The original legislation, passed in 2019, set a minimum threshold for the number of polling locations, with one polling location required for each 50,000 voters. The legislature was also careful to include provisions stating that when siting polling locations, boards of elections should take into account population density, travel time, and public transportation routes. These provisions recognize that inaccessibility to early voting polling locations will severely undermine the entire utility of the program for New York's voters. It has come to the attention of the sponsor that in at least one county in the state, the intent of these provisions has been disregarded, with polling locations being sited outside the coun- ty's largest municipality and urban center. The sites of the polling locations do not lend adequate and equitable access to the polls for the county's urban voters, as they are located a significant distance outside the county's largest city. Many urban voters, due to population density, utilize public transportation and will not have adequate and equitable access to the polling locations established in such county; these voters are effectively being disenfranchised from New York's early voting system. In every county across the state, urban locations and cities should be equally represented and given the opportunity to express their voting preferences. This bill seeks to remedy this shortfall in the original legislation by clarifying that, in each county, at least one polling place must be located in the largest municipality of that county. In addition, if such municipality has public transportation lines, the polling location must be along such public transportation lines, to ensure that users of public transportation have equal access to the polling location. This legislation will ultimately ensure that the most populated city in each county is provided with early voting, thus preventing disenfranchisement, whether unintentional or deliberate, of urban voters and users of public transportation.   PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: This is a new bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: There is no cost to the state.   LOCAL FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: None; this bill will not alter the number of required polling locations, rather it further clarifies where such polling places should be located.   EFFECTIVE DATE: This act shall take effect on January 1, 2021.
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A08610 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         8610--B
 
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                     October 2, 2019
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A. McDONALD, FAHY, D'URSO, ENGLEBRIGHT, GRIFFIN,
          JAFFEE, ROZIC, JACOBSON, DeSTEFANO, SEAWRIGHT, MOSLEY, THIELE,  GALEF,
          CRUZ,  BLAKE, STECK -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. LAWRENCE -- read
          once and referred to the Committee on Election Law --  recommitted  to
          the Committee on Election Law in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec.
          2  -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended
          and recommitted to said committee --  reported  and  referred  to  the
          Committee  on Ways and Means -- reported and referred to the Committee
          on  Rules  --  Rules  Committee  discharged,  bill  amended,   ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to the Committee on Rules
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election  law, in relation to requiring munici-
          palities with the highest population in each county to have  at  least
          one polling place designated for early voting
 
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2  of  section  8-600  of  the
     2  election  law,  as added by chapter 6 of the laws of 2019, is amended to
     3  read as follows:
     4    (a) The board of elections shall designate polling  places  for  early
     5  voting,  which  may  include  the offices of the board of elections, for
     6  persons to vote early pursuant to this title;  provided,  however,  that
     7  the municipality with the highest population in each county based on the
     8  latest  federal  decennial  census shall have at least one polling place
     9  designated for early voting, and to the extent practicable if such muni-
    10  cipality has public transportation routes, such polling place  shall  be
    11  situated  along such transportation routes. There shall be so designated
    12  at least one early voting polling place  for  every  full  increment  of
    13  fifty  thousand registered voters in each county; provided, however, the
    14  number of early voting polling places in a county shall not be  required
    15  to be greater than [seven] ten unless required by any other provision of
    16  law,  and  a  county with fewer than fifty thousand voters shall have at
    17  least one early voting polling place.
    18    § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2021.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13799-05-0
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