BILL NUMBER: S5537A

SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to authorizing county
boards of elections to establish county-wide polling places

 
PURPOSE:

To provide counties, at their discretion, to establish at least one
county-wide polling place on Election Day

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Amends the election law to give county boards of elections the option to
establish vote centers, where any person entitled to vote in such county
can do so on election day.

The A-print of this bill makes technical changes, adds a requirement to
file a plan with the state board of elections, and gives the state board
rulemaking authority for the establishment of vote centers.
              

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Early voting is a critical reform that has made voting easier and more
accessible for New Yorkers all across the state. One of the keys to
making this system work is the way voters can access the ballot:  quali-
fied voters in a county can make use of an early voting site of their
convenience. Many counties have multiple sites set up for the full early
voting period, made possible by systems that allow voters to check in
and receive a ballot specific to their address inside their county.
Overseen by bipartisan elections commissioners and poll workers, this
system functions well across the state during the early voting period.

Given the success of this model during the early voting period, it is
time for New York to take another step that has proven highly effective
in numerous other states: establishing Election Day vote centers.
According to the National Association of Secretaries of State, a "vote
center or a ballot center permits any voter within a whole jurisdiction
to cast their vote, regardless of their residential address. To allow
this alternative, vote centers often require an e-poll book which
enables the voter to check-in directly..." As of 2018, such vote centers
have been used in many states, for early voting (Nevada, Kansas, Louisi-
ana, Tennessee, Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia,
Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, and Washington DC), election day
(Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa), or both (Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New
Mexico, Texas, Arkansas, North Dakota, Indiana)

It is time to bring this reform to New York on Election Day. This legis-
lation will give county election officials the flexibility they need to
establish one or more such centers during elections. Just like the
established polling places during early voting, these vote centers will
allow voters from anywhere within a county to use polling places with
such a designation to cast their ballot. The placement and designation
of such vote centers would be decided at the discretion of local
elections officials, if they choose to pursue the vote center model.
Such an option could make use of already established polling places,

with equipment many counties already have and that poll workers will be
familiar with from early voting.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.