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Who cares
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Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Amended on third reading 6909a
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.235
- Referred to elections
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to political party emblems
In Assembly Committee · Election Law · Sponsor Brian Kavanagh
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to party emblems
Purpose
The bill repeals the requirement that the party emblem be affixed to the name of each candidate on the ballot.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends Election Law section 7-104, paragraph (a) of subdivision 4, paragraph (c) of subdivision 5, and subdivision 9, to remove the requirement that the party emblem appear with the name of each candidate on the ballot.
Section 2: Provides for the Act to take effect immediately.
Existing law
Under current law, Section 9-211 requires each county board of elections to randomly audit 3% of their voting systems, and the party emblem is required to appear in the box with the candidate's name.
Justification
The local boards of elections have all observed in performing the required audit that the presence of the party emblem in the voting box made it much more difficult to accurately perform the audit. The marking area is not very large, and when there is another significant mark (the emblem) contained within that area it is tedious to discern the voter's mark from the emblem.
With the move to the use of paper ballots and optical scan systems, there has also been some confusion among voters with respect to the appearance of the party emblem by the candidates name. These emblems are not recognized by most voters, and have caused some voters to think that their ballots have already been marked. Since the party of the candidate is clearly marked in the voting box where the candidate's name appears, the use of the party emblem in that box is an unnecessary relic that no longer serves any useful purpose, and it should be removed to prevent voter and election administration staff confusion.
The emblem will remain in the area with the image of a closed fist and extended finger and the party or independent name printed on it, which points to the party or independent row with the candidate names.
This legislation was requested by the State Board of Elections in its 2010 Election Law Proposals.
Legislative history
None.
Fiscal implications
None.
Local fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.