S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9655
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 31, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. GALEF -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Election Law
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to designating early poll-
   ing places
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions 1 and 3 of section 4-104 of the election law,
 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 5 of the laws of 2019  and  subdivi-
 sion  3  as  amended  by chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, are amended to
 read as follows:
   1. Every board of elections shall, in  consultation  with  each  city,
 town and village, designate the polling places in each election district
 in  which  the  meetings  for  the  registration  of voters, and for any
 election may be held. The board of trustees of  each  village  in  which
 general  and  special  village  elections  conducted  by  the  board  of
 elections are held at a time other than the time of a  general  election
 shall submit such a list of polling places for such village elections to
 the  board  of  elections.  A polling place may be located in a building
 owned by a religious organization or used by it as a place  of  worship.
 If  such  a  building  is designated as a polling place, it shall not be
 required to be open for voter registration on any Saturday  if  this  is
 contrary to the religious beliefs of the religious organization. In such
 a  situation,  the  board  of  elections  shall  designate  an alternate
 location to be used for voter registration. Such polling places must  be
 designated  by March fifteenth, of each year, and shall be effective for
 one year thereafter. Such a list required to be submitted by  a  village
 board  of  trustees  must  be submitted at least four months before each
 general village election and shall be effective until four months before
 the subsequent general village election. [No place in which  a  business
 licensed  to  sell  alcoholic  beverages  for on premises consumption is
 conducted on any day of local registration or  of  voting  shall  be  so
 designated.]  If,  within  the  discretion  of  the board of elections a
 particular polling place so  designated  is  subsequently  found  to  be
 unsuitable  or  unsafe  or should circumstances arise that make a desig-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
              

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD14571-01-9

 A. 9655                             2
 
 nated polling place unsuitable or unsafe, then the board of elections is
 empowered to select an alternative meeting place. In  the  city  of  New
 York,  the  board  of  elections shall designate such polling places and
 alternate  registration  places  if the polling place cannot be used for
 voter registration on Saturdays.
   3. A BOARD OR BODY EMPOWERED TO DESIGNATE POLLING PLACES SHALL  DESIG-
 NATE  ANY  PUBLIC BUILDING AS A POLLING PLACE TO THE EXTENT PRACTICABLE,
 PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT IN NO CASE SHALL A  PUBLIC  SCHOOL  BUILDING  BE
 DESIGNATED  AS  AN  EARLY VOTING POLLING LOCATION. IF ADDITIONAL POLLING
 PLACES SHALL BE NEEDED, A building exempt from taxation OR OWNED  BY  AN
 ENTITY  RECEIVING  MORE  THAN  ONE MILLION DOLLARS IN ANNUAL STATE GRANT
 FUNDING shall be used [whenever possible] as a polling place  if  it  is
 situated  in the same or a contiguous election district, and may contain
 as many distinctly separate polling places  as  public  convenience  may
 require, UNLESS THE OWNER OR OPERATOR OF SUCH BUILDING SHALL DEMONSTRATE
 THAT SUCH USE IS SIGNIFICANTLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE PRIMARY FUNCTION OF
 THE  ENTITY.  The  expense, if any, incidental to its use, shall be paid
 like the expense of other places of registration and voting. If a  board
 or  body  empowered  to designate polling places chooses a public school
 building for such purpose, the  board  or  agency  which  controls  such
 building  must make available a room or rooms in such building which are
 suitable for registration and voting and which are as close as  possible
 to  a  convenient  entrance to such building and must make available any
 such room or rooms which the board or  body  designating  such  building
 determines  are  accessible to physically disabled voters as provided in
 subdivision  one-a.  Notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  any  general,
 special  or local law, if a board or body empowered to designate polling
 places chooses a publicly owned or leased building, other than a  public
 school building, for such purposes the board or body which controls such
 building  must make available a room or rooms in such building which are
 suitable for registration and voting and which are as close as  possible
 to  a  convenient entrance to such building, and must make available any
 such room or rooms which the board or  body  designating  such  building
 determines  are  accessible  to  physically  disabled voters unless, not
 later than thirty days after notice of  its  designation  as  a  polling
 place,  the  board  or  body  controlling such building, files a written
 request for a cancellation of such designation with the  board  or  body
 empowered  to designate polling places on such form as shall be provided
 by the board  or  body  making  such  designation.  The  board  or  body
 empowered  to  so designate shall, within twenty days after such request
 is filed, determine whether the use of such building as a polling  place
 would unreasonably interfere with the usual activities conducted in such
 building and upon such determination, may cancel such designation.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.