What's happening
This bill allows Westchester County to merge election districts with 50 or fewer voters, under certain conditions.
Why it matters
This change could make voting more efficient in Westchester County. by allowing the consolidation of very small election districts, potentially reducing costs associated with staffing and operating numerous low-turnout polling sites.
The merger rule is limited to districts that share the same local and legislative boundaries. (ward, town, city, village, county legislative, assembly, senate, and congressional districts), meaning voters will still vote on the same set of candidates and issues, helping to avoid confusion or ballot errors.
The law maintains a cap on the size of any newly merged district. , aiming to ensure that polling locations do not become overcrowded or unmanageable, which could protect access and minimize wait times for voters.
This could affect voter access and the “neighborhood polling place” experience. , especially for individuals in very small districts who may have to travel farther or adjust to a new polling location, raising concerns about convenience and turnout among less mobile voters.
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Who cares
Westchester County Board of Elections
The bill would let the board merge election districts with 50 or fewer registered voters into existing districts, subject to boundary and voter-count limits.
Voters in small Westchester election districts
Their districts could be merged only with districts in the same ward, town, city or village and the same county legislative, Assembly, Senate and congressional districts.
Voters in receiving election districts
Any consolidated district would have to stay within the existing maximum voter count, excluding inactive registrants.
Headline styles
Merge Tiny Voting Districts
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to election law
- Referred to election law
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
3933
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 30, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. PRETLOW -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the consolidation of certain election districts in the county of Westchester
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 4-100 of the election law is amended by adding a new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
2-a. Notwithstanding any provision of subdivision two of this section to the contrary, the board of elections of the county of Westchester may merge any election district with fifty or fewer registered voters into an existing election district so long as both such districts are within the same ward, town, city or village, and the same county legislative, assembly, senatorial and congressional district. Furthermore, no consolidated election district created pursuant to this subdivision shall exceed the total number of registered voters, excluding registrants in inactive status, exceed the maximum number permitted by this section.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08694-01-7
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.