Myrie and Senate Elections Committee Pass BOE Reform Package

ALBANY— Senator Zellnor Y. Myrie (D-Brooklyn), chair of the Senate Elections Committee, today advanced a package of bills that would reform and improve election administration in New York.

The legislation was crafted in response to longstanding challenges and inconsistencies at boards of elections, which were highlighted at a series of hearings held across the state in 2021 and recommended in a landmark report released by Senator Myrie in November.

"Voters from Brooklyn to Buffalo have spoken loudly and clearly: New York's boards of elections must do much more to serve our state and our democracy. Today, the Senate Elections Committee passed several key bills to address the dysfunction we heard about at our hearings, and restore voters' confidence in the administration of our elections," said Senator Myrie. "Our system must put voters first, especially with our democracy under attack in other states across the country. I'm very proud of this legislative package and look forward to its passage by the full Senate and the Assembly, and their enactment into law."

Bills sponsored by Senator Myrie that passed the Elections Committee today include:

• S.263: Requires mandatory annual training for elections commissioners
• S.7382-A: Repeals current ban on providing food or drink to voters waiting in line
• S.7442: Prohibits election commissioners and deputy commissioners from simultaneously serving as a political party chair, or holding other public office

Additional bills that passed the Elections Committee today include:

• S.6226-C (Krueger): Restructures the New York City Board of Elections
• S.823-A (Krueger): Increases minimum pay for New York City poll workers
• S.4542-A (Mayer): Creates conflicts-of-interest rules for elections commissioners
• S.5800-B (Comrie): Requires mandatory "train-the-trainer" curriculum for poll workers
• S.6684-A (Mannion): Sets minimum staffing levels for boards of elections
• S.8289 (Gaughran): Requires public hearings prior to appointment of elections commissioners
• S.8292 (Mannion): Sets minimum qualification requirements for elections commissioners
• S.8311 (Mayer): Requires elections commissioners serve as full-time employees
• S.8337 (May): Permits the state board of elections to remove a local elections commissioner for cause

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