NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1447

Senate Bill S1447

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Requires electors to vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in a manner representing the plurality of votes in each congressional district

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Elections Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 09, 2025	referred to elections

co-Sponsors

2025-S1447 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Elections
Law Section:: Election Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §12-106, El L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S9039
2021-2022: S1804
2023-2024: S1113

2025-S1447 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Requires electors to vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in a manner representing the plurality of votes in each congressional district; provides that two electoral votes shall be given to the statewide winner and one electoral vote shall be given to each congressional district based on the plurality of votes in such district.

2025-S1447 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1447

SPONSOR: BORRELLO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the election law, in relation to requiring electors to
vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in a manner
representing the plurality of votes in each congressional district

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill requires that the New York electoral votes be allocated based
on the popular vote in each congressional district, with two at large
electoral representatives casting their electoral vote for the statewide
winner.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1. Amends section 12-106 of the Election Law to state that two
electoral votes for the Presidential and Vice-Presidential candidates
shall be given to the statewide winners and one electoral vote shall be
given to the winners in each congressional district.

Section 2. The legislation would take effect immediately upon adoption.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The president and vice-president of the United States are selected by
the Electoral College, which consists of one vote for every congression-
al district and two votes (just as two Senators represent each state).

Under current law, the New York State presidential and vice-presidential
winners of the statewide popular vote receive all the electoral votes
for New York State, regardless of their margin of victory. This approach
is the antithesis of selecting the president and vice-president by popu-
lar vote because it ignores all the popular votes cast for the second-
place winners. The practical effect of the current system is to disen-
franchise millions of voters.

The current approach is also the antithesis of a popular election of
president and vice-president. If every state cast its electoral votes in
proportion to the statewide votes, the electoral college would more
closely match the popular vote. Instead, the current system distorts the
popular vote by casting all the electoral votes for the statewide winner
regardless of the popular vote within the state.  Thus, a presidential
candidate who wins by a very small margin within the State nevertheless
would receive all the electoral votes from the State.

The current approach also minimizes the role of New York State voters in
selecting the president and vice-president. Since New York City Demo-
crats dominate statewide elections, neither presidential candidate
spends any time or effort courting upstate New York voters.

Two other States currently allocate their electoral votes based on the
popular vote within the State, Maine and Nebraska.

New York should provide national leadership in allocating its electoral
votes in proportion to the popular within the State.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S.1113/A1938 Referred to Elections

2023: S.1113/A1938 Referred to Elections

2022: S.1804 Referred to Elections

2020: S.9039-A/A. Referred to Rules

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately after adoption.

2025-S1447 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1447
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 9, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sens. BORRELLO, OBERACKER -- read twice and ordered print-
   ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the election law, in relation to requiring electors to
   vote for the presidential and vice presidential candidates in a manner
   representing the plurality of votes in each congressional district

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 12-106 of the election law, as amended by chapter
 215 of the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
   § 12-106. Electoral college; vote of the electors.  Immediately  after
 the  organization  of the electoral college, the electors shall then and
 there vote by ballot for president and vice president,  but  no  elector
 shall  vote  for  more  than one person who is a resident of this state.
 TWO ELECTORAL VOTES SHALL BE GIVEN TO THE STATEWIDE WINNER AND ONE ELEC-
 TORAL VOTE SHALL BE GIVEN TO EACH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT  BASED  ON  THE
 PLURALITY OF VOTES IN SUCH DISTRICT. They shall name in separate ballots
 the  persons  voted for as president and vice president. They shall make
 and sign six certificates of vote of all the votes given by  them,  each
 of  which  certificates  shall  contain two distinct lists, one with the
 votes for president and one with the votes  for  vice  president.  There
 shall be annexed to each of the certificates of vote one of the lists of
 electors  which  shall have been furnished to them by the state board of
 elections pursuant to section 12-102 of this title. They shall  seal  up
 the certificates of vote so made and certify upon each that the lists of
 all  the  votes of this state given for president and vice president are
 contained therein.
   Notwithstanding any other section of law besides title  four  of  this
 article,  each elector shall cast [his or her] SUCH ELECTOR'S ballot for
 president and vice president for the candidates for  these  offices  who
 were  nominated  by  the political party that nominated the presidential
 elector. Refusal or failure to vote for the candidates for president and
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04479-01-5

 S. 1447                             2
 
 vice president who were nominated by the political party that  nominated
 the  presidential elector shall constitute a resignation from the office
 of elector, and any such vote by an elector shall not be  recorded.  The
 ballots  used  by  the  elector  shall bear the name of the elector. The
 remaining electors shall forthwith fill the vacancy in  accordance  with
 section  12-104  of  this  title.  Nothing  in this subdivision shall be
 interpreted as modifying or repealing title four of  this  article,  the
 agreement  among  the  states to elect the president by national popular
 vote.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and  shall  apply  to  all
 electors for all elections occurring on and after such date.

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Senate Bill S1447

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Sponsored By

George M. Borrello