S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1148
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KRUEGER,  HOYLMAN-SIGAL -- 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 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

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03667-01-3
              

 S. 1148                             2

 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-
 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.