O'Mara legislation approved to reduce costs for local boards of elections

Albany, N.Y.—The New York State Legislature has approved legislation sponsored by Senator Tom O’Mara (R-C, Big Flats), chairman of the Senate Elections Committee, to provide cost savings to localities by reducing the time local boards of elections are required to store unopened and unused election ballots.

“It’s another small step to relieve the unnecessary and costly financial burdens imposed by many current state laws,” said O’Mara. 

O’Mara said that current law requires local and county boards of elections to store sealed packages of unused and wholly blank election ballots including special federal, local, special presidential, absentee and military, and emergency ballots for two years after an election.

O’Mara’s legislation (S.5211/A.6767-A) would reduce the amount of storage time from two years to four months, thereby reducing, significantly in some cases, the local costs associated with warehousing excessive amounts of unused and unopened election ballots.

The legislation now goes to Governor Andrew Cuomo to be signed into law.