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A1259Assembly2017-2018 Session

Expand Poll Watcher Appointment Authority

Official title

“Relates to watchers during election”

Sponsor David BuchwaldAD-93Affects Public Safety & Consumer Affairs
Status
In Senate Committee
Elections
Impact
3/10
Low
Passage
0%

Bill progress

Step 5 of 7

In Senate · Elections

What's happening

This bill expands who can appoint poll watchers and limits primary candidate appointments to ballot-listed candidates.

Why it matters

  1. Statewide election rules. Party and committee chairs or other officers could appoint watchers, broadening appointment authority beyond the current wording.

  2. Primary elections. The bill explicitly authorizes party committees to have watchers and requires candidates seeking watchers to be on the ballot and act together.

  3. Existing limits remain. Each eligible group could still have three watchers per election district at once, with only one inside the guard rail.

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Who cares

  • Party committees and independent ballot groups

    More officers could appoint their election watchers.

  • Primary candidates

    Candidates would have to be on the ballot and join with at least one other candidate to appoint watchers.

  • Election inspectors

    They would receive watcher appointment certificates issued by the newly specified appointing authorities.

Headline styles

Expand Poll Watcher Appointment Authority

Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.

Sponsors

Primary sponsor
David Buchwald

Assembly Member · Assembly District 93

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to elections
  2. Delivered to senate
  3. Passed assembly
  4. Ordered to third reading cal.84
  5. Returned to assembly
  6. Died in senate
  7. Referred to elections
  8. Delivered to senate
  9. Passed assembly
  10. Advanced to third reading cal.66
  11. Reported
  12. Referred to election law

Full text

2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗

STATE OF NEW YORK

1259

2017-2018 Regular Sessions

IN ASSEMBLY

January 11, 2017

Introduced by M. of A. BUCHWALD -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law

AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to watchers during election

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. Section 8-500 of the election law, as amended by chapter 9 of the laws of 1978, subdivisions 1 and 3 as amended by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, and subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 254 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as follows:

§ 8-500. Watchers; provision for. 1. At any general, special, town or village election, any party committee [or] and any independent body whose candidates are upon the ballot, [and at any primary election, any two or more candidates and any political committee] may have for each election district three watchers at any one time, not more than one of whom may be within the guard rail at any one time. Watchers shall be appointed by the [chairman] chair or other officer of any such party, committee or independent body [or by the candidates].

2. At any primary election, any party committee, any two or more candidates on the ballot and any political committee may have for each election district three watchers at any one time, not more than one of whom may be within the guard rail at any one time. Watchers shall be appointed by the chair or other officer of any such party, committee or by any two candidates.

3. Watchers may be present at the polling place at least fifteen minutes before the unlocking and examination of any voting machine or ballot box at the opening of the polls, until after the signing of the inspectors' returns and proclamation of the result.

[3.] 4. The appointment of watchers for any election shall be by a certificate in writing issued by the [chairman or secretary of the political party or independent body, or the candidates] appointing

EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

[ ] is old law to be omitted.

LBD01575-01-7

A. 1259 2

authority. Such certificate shall be delivered to an inspector at the election district.

[4.] 5. Each watcher must be a qualified voter of the city or county in which he or she is to serve. No person shall be appointed or act as a watcher who is a candidate for any public office to be voted for by the voters of the election district in the same election in which the watcher is to serve. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as prohibiting any such candidate from visiting a polling place in such district on an election day while the polls are open.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.