The public meeting took place in New York City on December 9, 2013 in the Assembly Hearing Room 1923, 19th floor, 250 Broadway, New York.
In preparing for the meeting, I collected Election Laws that were passed in 2013 by the State Assembly but most died in the Senate.
Greater Voter Participation institutes early voting by establishing a 15-day period for general elections and eight days for primaries and specials. Under the bill, each local Board of Elections (BOE) must designate at least four polling places for voters to cast an early ballot, in addition to a site at the local BOE, for a total of at least five polling places. During the early voting time frame, polls would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. each week day and at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday. Ballots cast during the early voting period will be counted at the close of the polls on Election Day and included in the election night tally. (A.689-A; Passed Assembly)
2013 Fair Elections Act establishes an optional public financing system for election campaigns for statewide offices, state legislative offices, and constitutional convention delegates. The legislation would create the position of an independent enforcement counsel, appointed by a five-member Fair Elections Board, who would be charged with enforcing all campaign finance laws, rules and regulations. The bill also would require expanded disclosure of political campaign expenditures and communications. (A.4980-C; Passed Assembly / S.4705; Elections)
Absentee Ballot Deadlines requires the Board of Elections to accept applications for absentee ballots up to the day before an election. (A.1880; Passed Assembly)
Pre-registration allows 16 and 17-year-olds to pre-register to vote and allows 17-year olds to vote in a primary election if they will be 18 years of age on the day of the general election. (A.2042-A; Passed Assembly / S.1992-A; Elections)
National Popular Vote enacts the agreement among the states to elect the president of the United States by national popular vote. (A.4422; Passed Assembly / S.3149; Passed June 7, 2013)
Candidates as Poll Watchers prohibits a candidate from serving as a poll watcher in an election district in which they appear on the ballot. (A.5075; Passed Assembly)
Absentee Ballots for Blind or Visually Impaired requires absentee ballots be printed in Braille and large-print. (A.6195-A; Passed Assembly / S.4135-A; Elections)
Notice Requirement for Village Elections simplifies the notice requirements for party nominating caucuses in village elections while ensuring sufficient notice to village residents. (A.412; Passed Assembly / S.4671; Elections)
Absentee Ballots in Village Elections requires absentee ballot applications for village elections to conform to the absentee ballot requirements of the state Board of Elections. (A.5065; Passed Assembly / S.3553; Elections)
The public meeting official notice:
SUBJECT:
To examine solutions to make voting, in person and absentee, more accessible for all voters, and examine moving the state primary to June, beginning in 2014.
PURPOSE:
To examine ways to improve elections in New York State that will enhance accessibility (physical and logistical) to the polls. The committee will also hear testimony on moving the state primary to June, beginning in 2014.
The Committee took testimony relating to the range of issues associated with enhancing accessibility to the polls as well as increasing fairness to voters and the effects of such proposals on the state budget. The hearing also looked for ways to ensure that New York State's election law is consistent with the Federal Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment (MOVE) act.
The meeting was chaired by:
Michael J. Cusick
Member of Assembly
Chairman, Committee on Election Law
Thomas Abinanti
Member of Assembly
Chairman, Subcommittee on Election Day Operations and Voter Disenfranchisement
Witness List
1. Robert Brehm, Co-Executive Director, NYS Board of Elections
2. Michael Ryan, Executive Director, NYC Board of Elections and Dawn Sandow, Deputy Executive Director, NYC Board of Elections
3. Joseph Welch, Chairman, NYS Election Commissioners Association
4. Susan Lerner, Executive Director, Common Cause and Sally Robinson, State President, League of Women Voters and B. Kate Doran, Election Specialist, League of Women Voters and Ken Cohen, Regional Director, NYS-NAACP and Alex Camarda, Director of Public
Policy and Advocacy, Citizens Union and Rachel Fauss, Citizens Union
5. Lorraine Deller, Executive Director, Nassau-Suffolk School Board Association and Robert Lincoln, Jr., Commissioner, Great Neck Park District and Ralph Kreitzman, Mayor
Village of Great Neck and Mike Blau, Village Administrator, Westchester Municipal Officials Association
6. Monica Bartley, Voting Rights Coordinator, Center for Independence of the Disabled and Susan Cohen, Director, Voting Access Solutions and Larry Greenstein, Disability Advocate, Port Washington School Board and Kevin Greenstein, Disability Advocate, Port Washington School Board
7. Jarret Berg, NY Democratic Lawyers Council
The meeting lasted 6 hrs.
Some of the issues were:
1. The cost for early voting and what technology will be required to avoid multiple voting.
2. The cost for Instant Run-Off Voting for Primary Elections. The current State Assembly and New York City Council approved a selection of up to three candidates.
3. The cost and logistics of having to use optical scanners in local nonpartisan elections like school boards when there will be over 1,000 voters.
4. Ballot standardization in the state.
5. Moving state primaries to June.
6. New technologies like electronic poll books and ballot printing on-demand.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!
Michael H. Drucker
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June 12, 2013 — The New York State Assembly approved the National Popular Vote bill (A4422-S3149) by a 100–40 margin.
On June 7, 2011, the New York Senate passed the National Popular Vote bill by a 47–13 margin
On June 7, 2010, the New York Senate passed the National Popular Vote bill, with over two-thirds of both political parties supporting the bill in a 52-7 roll call.
A survey of New York voters showed 79% overall support for a national popular vote for President.
By gender, support was 89% among women and 69% among men.
By age, support was 60% among 18-29 year olds, 74% among 30-45 year olds, 85% among 46-65 year olds, and 82% for those older than 65.
Support was 86% among Democrats, 66% among Republicans, 78% among Independence Party members (representing 8% of respondents), 50% among Conservative Party members (representing 3% of respondents), 100% among Working Families Party members (representing 2% of respondents), and 7% among Others (representing 7% of respondents).
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states (and DC).
Every vote, everywhere, would be politically relevant and equal in presidential elections. No more distorting and divisive red and blue state maps. There would no longer be a handful of 'battleground' states where voters and policies are more important than those of the voters in 80% of the states that now are just 'spectators' and ignored after the conventions.
When the bill is enacted by states with a majority of the electoral votes– enough electoral votes to elect a President (270 of 538), all the electoral votes from the enacting states would be awarded to the presidential candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC.
In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state's electoral votes to the presidential candidate who receives the most votes in each separate state (with about 70% opposed and about 10% undecided). Support for a national popular vote is strong among Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters, as well as every demographic group in virtually every state surveyed in recent polls in recent closely divided Battleground states: CO – 68%, FL – 78%, IA 75%, MI – 73%, MO – 70%, NH – 69%, NV – 72%, NM– 76%, NC – 74%, OH – 70%, PA – 78%, VA – 74%, and WI – 71%; in Small states (3 to 5 electoral votes): AK – 70%, DC – 76%, DE – 75%, ID – 77%, ME – 77%, MT – 72%, NE 74%, NH – 69%, NV – 72%, NM – 76%, OK – 81%, RI – 74%, SD – 71%, UT – 70%, VT – 75%, WV – 81%, and WY – 69%; in Southern and Border states: AR – 80%, KY- 80%, MS – 77%, MO – 70%, NC – 74%, OK – 81%, SC – 71%, TN – 83%, VA – 74%, and WV – 81%; and in other states polled: AZ – 67%, CA – 70%, CT – 74%, MA – 73%, MN – 75%, NY – 79%, OR – 76%, and WA – 77%. Americans believe that the candidate who receives the most votes should win.
The bill has passed 32 state legislative chambers in 21 states with 243 electoral votes. The bill has been enacted by 10 jurisdictions with 136 electoral votes – 50.4% of the 270 necessary to go into effect.
NationalPopularVote
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Thanks for the update.
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