Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara (D-Rotterdam) announced that he helped pass legislation to make voting more accessible and eliminate the limited liability corporation (LLC) loophole in the state campaign finance law in an effort to help more New Yorkers vote and ensure that elections are more transparent.

“Finding time to vote can be difficult for hardworking families with busy schedules,” Santabarbara said. “By modernizing our electoral process, we can make sure people have a say in the issues that affect them while strengthen our democracy.”

To make voting more accessible and easier in New York, Santabarbara helped pass legislation to establish early voting for a seven-day period prior to an election (A.9608-B). During this period, polling locations would be required to remain open for at least eight hours on weekdays and five hours on weekends and holidays as well as offer evening hours for at least two days. County boards of elections would have the option of providing additional early voting hours and would be required to publicize to voters the location, dates and hours of all polling places within the county. The state will provide funding to help local governments implement it.

Santabarbara also helped pass the Voter Enfranchisement Modernization Act, which would establish online voter registration in New York (A.5382-A). The package also includes a bill to allow any citizen to receive an absentee ballot upon request (A.7623).

Santabarbara also helped pass legislation to extend the $5,000 aggregate contribution limit that already applies to other corporations to LLCs and require LLCs to disclose the names of individuals with membership interests, attributing contributions to them (A.9758-A). Current law allows individuals and corporations to make unlimited contributions to the same candidate, political party or campaign committee by creating new LLCs for each contribution.

“When corporations and individuals with unscrupulous motives are able to funnel obscene amounts of money into our elections, voters get drowned out,” said Santabarbara. “Closing the LLC loophole helps put an end to abuses of the system so everyday New Yorkers are heard.”