What's happening
This bill extends New York City Board of Elections filing hours for petitions and certificates from 9 A.M. to 9 P.M.
Why it matters
Expanding filing hours to 9 P.M. provides greater flexibility for candidates, campaign volunteers, and community members with jobs or family obligations who may not be able to file during standard business hours, potentially increasing civic participation.
By specifying a consistent and predictable closing time (9 P.M.) rather than relying on a midnight deadline, the amendment may reduce confusion and administrative strain for both election officials and filers, improving the efficiency and transparency of the filing process.
The change could help prevent last-minute technical or logistical issues that might arise from late-night filings, potentially decreasing the number of disqualified or incomplete submissions due to missed deadlines or reduced staff availability.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Extend Election Office Hours
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to elections
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8373
IN SENATE
May 3, 2018
Introduced by Sen. AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to increasing the hours that the board of elections in the city of New York will be open for persons to file certificates and/or petitions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 1-106 of the election law, as amended by chapter 700 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as follows:
1. All papers required to be filed pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall, unless otherwise provided, be filed between the hours of nine A.M. and five P.M. If the last day for filing shall fall on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday, the next business day shall become the last day for filing. All papers sent by mail in an envelope postmarked prior to midnight of the last day of filing shall be deemed timely filed and accepted for filing when received, except that all certificates and petitions of designation or nomination, certificates of acceptance or declination of such designations and nominations, certificates of substitution for such designations or nominations and objections and specifications of objections to such certificates and petitions required to be filed with the board of elections of the city of New York must be actually received by such city board of elections on or before the last day to file any such petition, certificate or objection and such office shall be open for the receipt of such petitions, certificates and objections [until midnight on the last day] from nine A.M. to nine P.M. on each such day to file any such petition, certificate or objection. Failure of the post office or any other person or entity to deliver any such petition, certificate or objection to such city board of elections on or before such last day shall be a fatal defect.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15534-01-8
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the election law, in relation to increasing the hours that the board of elections in the city of New York will be open for persons to file certificates and/or petitions
Purpose
To modify and increase the hours the Board of Elections in New York City is open to the public to file certificates and petitions of designation or nomination, certificates of acceptance or declination of such desig- nations or nominations, objections and specifications of objections to such certificates and petitions.
Summary of provisions
Section 1: Amends subdivision 1 of section 1-106 of the election law by changing the hours of operation of the Board of Elections in New York City from nine A.M. to 9 P.M. on each such day to file any such peti- tion, certificate or objection.
Section 2: States the effective date
Justification
This proposal would allow for the better utilization of valuable resources, including personnel of the Board of Elections in the City of New York. The need for a continuous work period for some Board staff (of twenty-four to thirty-six hours) would be eliminated, while enhancing the services offered to the public.
Legislative history
New bill.
Fiscal implications
The Board estimates that enactment of this legislation would reduce the number of mandatory overtime hours during the designating and independ- ent nominating filing periods (based on actual experiences during 2010) by at least twenty-five (25) hours with a net cost savings of over $18,000 a year.
Effective date
Immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.