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History
- Referred to elections
- Referred to elections
Full text
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Sponsor's memo
BILL NUMBER:S32
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law and the public officers law, in relation to the procedure to fill vacancies for representatives in Congress
Purpose
Requires vacancies for representatives in Congress to be filled by non-partisan special elections
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill amends section 12-300 of the election law to include a new subdivision 2. This subdivision directs the governor to proclaim a special non-partisan election within three days of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of representative in congress and calls for this election to be held forty-five days from the governor's proclamation. It also sets forth the nominating petition process, specifies that such petitions should be filed within fifteen days of the governor's proclamation and calls on the person elected to take office immediately and serve for the remainder of the unexpired term.
Section 2 amends subdivision 4 of section 42 of the public officers law to remove the office of representative in congress from the provisions of this subdivision.
Section 3 specifies the effective date.
Justification
The current selection procedure for filling vacancies in congressional seats restricts the participation of voters in the electoral process, thereby undermining democracy. presently, in the event that there is a vacancy in a congressional seat, the process of selecting a new representative does not permit real voter participation in a contested election. Rather, a committee filled with political insiders conducts a closed nomination meeting to determine what candidate obtains the party line, effectively guaranteeing election in many districts throughout New York State.
A fundamental tenet of our democracy is the accountability of elected officials to the public, best achieved through competitive elections. Reform of the process by which congressional seats are filled, through implementation of a non-partisan special election system will improve public accountability.
Legislative history
2010: S.5290 (Squadron) - Elections, A.9868 (Kavanagh) - Election Law 2009: S.5290 (Squadron) - Elections
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.