Makes provisions regarding the boundaries of election districts and the designation of polling places on college campuses

4 Co-sponsors

• Ruben Diaz
• Liz Krueger
• Kevin S. Parker
• John L. Sampson

BILL NUMBER:S2003A

Title of bill

An act to amend the election law, in relation to the boundaries of election districts and the designation of polling places

Purpose

This bill would provide that election districts shall not be drawn in such a way that they are partly on and partly off a college or university campus or other contiguous college or university property with 300 or more registered voters, excluding inactive voters. It would also require that the poll sites for election districts serving such concentrations of college or university voters shall be on the campus or college or university property, or at a site approved by the college or university.

Summary of provisions

Section one of the bill amends section 4-104 of the election law by adding a new subdivision 5-a to provide that whenever 300 or more registered voters (excluding registrants in inactive status) are registered on a contiguous college or university property the polling place for such voters shall be on the property or at a location approved by the college or university.

Section two of the bill amends paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 4-100 of the election law to add contiguous properties of colleges and universities with 300 or more registered voters (excluding registrants in inactive status) to the list of geographic areas that cannot be partly in and partly out of an election district.

Section three of the bill sets forth the effective date.

Justification

This bill would provide college and university campuses and other college and university properties with large concentrations of voters with their own election districts and their own poll sites, in recognition of the fact that requiring residents of colleges and universities to vote at sites remote from their campuses or requiring voters unaffiliated with the colleges and universities to vote on campuses can present unnecessary obstacles to voting.

Legislative history

2009: A03430 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2008: A01539 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2007: A01539 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2006: A00352 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2005: A00352 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2004: A07388 (Bradley) - Third Reading 2003: A07388 (Bradley) - Election Law

Fiscal implications

Minimal

Effective date

This act shall take effect on January 1, 2012.