S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2703
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 22, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  ORTT  --  read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to establishing no  school
   shall serve as a polling place
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104  of  the  election  law,  as
 amended  by chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, is amended and a new subdi-
 vision 7-a is added to read as follows:
   3. A building exempt from taxation 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. 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 choos-
 es  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  designat-
 ing  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  disa-
 bled  voters  unless,  not  later  than  thirty days after notice of its
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD06977-01-1

 S. 2703                             2
 
 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  activ-
 ities conducted in such building and upon such determination, may cancel
 such designation.
   7-A.  NO  POLLING PLACE SHALL BE LOCATED ON THE PREMISES OF ANY PUBLIC
 OR PRIVATE ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY SCHOOL  OR  A  SCHOOL  FOR  PRESCHOOL
 CHILDREN,  AS  THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN PARAGRAPH I OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF
 SECTION FORTY-FOUR HUNDRED TEN OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.