BILL NUMBER: S326

SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to obtaining written
consent from candidates for certain county committees

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends Section 6-134 of the election law by adding a new
subdivision 14 to require county committee candidates to provide their
written acceptance to be designated on a petition for to the position of
county committee member in cities with a population of one million or
more, and requires such acceptance to be filed to the board of elections
within ten days from the filing of such designating petition.

Section 2 provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

              

In our country, political parties are governed at all levels by commit-
tees of citizens chosen by their peers. While individual party rules
dictate the responsibilities of committee members, in New York, at the
local level, county committee members are typically responsible for
organizing fellow party members, creating the party's platform, and
nominating the party's candidate in special elections for the state
legislature.  Because county committees play such a vital role in our
state's democratic process by providing a framework for community
members to get involved in electoral politics, we must ensure that the
system by which committee candidates gain their seats is ethical and
trustworthy.  In August 2018 New York Times reporting uncovered multiple
instances in which individuals were unwittingly nominated for positions
on the Queens county committee. Surprisingly, the dishonest practice of
nominating unwitting candidates, which invades the privacy of these
individuals and undermines the democratic process by shutting out will-
ing candidates, is not considered a violation by the state board of
elections.  To certify that candidates for county committee are running
for these important positions of their own volition, this legislation
requires county committee candidates in cities of one million or more to
provide to the state board of elections their written consent to be
nominated for county committee membership.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2020: S5428A - Reported and Committed to Finance/ A7488A - Referred to
Election Law
2019: S5428A - Committed to Rules/ A7488A - Referred to Election Law

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately after becoming law.