What's happening
This bill requires special primary elections before special elections, changes nomination procedures, and mandates the governor to call special elections within ten days of a vacancy.
Why it matters
Shifts party nominations for special elections from internal party decisions to a public special primary. , allowing voters—rather than party insiders—to choose party nominees, increasing voter influence and transparency in candidate selection.
Standardizes and tightens the nomination process for special primaries. , including clear deadlines and signature requirements for both party and independent candidates, which could make ballot access more predictable but potentially more challenging for less-organized campaigns.
Mandates prompt action from the governor to fill legislative vacancies. , reducing the length of time seats remain empty and ensuring constituents are represented more quickly, potentially impacting the balance of power in closely divided legislatures.
Aligns special election timing with existing primary or general elections when vacancies occur close to those dates. , potentially increasing voter turnout for these races and reducing administrative costs, but also possibly leading to more crowded ballots.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Standardize Special Election Procedures
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Referred to election law
- Referred to election law
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
835
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 11, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, DINOWITZ, GALEF, PAULIN, CAHILL, QUART, MALLIOTAKIS -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GOTTFRIED -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law and the public officers law, in relation to creating a special primary election to take place prior to a special election and mandating the governor to proclaim all special elections within ten days of the vacancy
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Section 6-114 of the election law is amended to read as follows:
§ 6-114. Party nominations; special election. Party nominations for an office to be filled at a special election shall be made [in the manner prescribed by the rules of the party] at a special primary election pursuant to section 6-161 of this article, at which the candidate receiving the most votes shall be the nominee of the party.
§ 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 6-161 to read as follows:
§ 6-161. Special primary elections. 1. The special primary election shall take place on the first Tuesday occurring at least thirty days but no more than thirty-six days prior to the special election.
2. Designating petitions for a primary nomination shall be subjected to the same form and rules set out in sections 6-132 and 6-134 of this article. Designating petitions shall be filed within twelve days of the date the governor proclaims the need for a special election.
3. Notwithstanding section 6-136 of this article, the required amount of signatures for a designating petition, pursuant to this section, shall be five hundred for a state senatorial district and two hundred fifty for an assembly district.
4. Petitions for independent nominations shall be filed within fifteen days of the date the governor proclaims the need for a special election. Notwithstanding section 6-138 of this article, the required amount of signatures for a designating petition, pursuant to this section, shall
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03286-01-9
A. 835 2
be one thousand for a state senatorial district and five hundred for an assembly district.
§ 3. Subdivisions 1, 3 and 4 of section 42 of the public officers law, subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 878 of the laws of 1946, subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2011 and subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 317 of the laws of 1954, are amended and a new subdivision 4-b is added to read as follows:
1. A vacancy occurring before September twentieth of any year in any office authorized to be filled at a general election, except in the offices of governor [or], lieutenant-governor, state senator or member of assembly, shall be filled at the general election held next thereafter, unless otherwise provided by the constitution, or unless previously filled at a special election.
3. Upon the failure to elect to any office, except that of governor or lieutenant-governor, at a general or special election, at which such office is authorized to be filled, or upon the death or disqualification of a person elected to office before the commencement of his or her official term, or upon the occurrence of a vacancy in any elective office which cannot be filled by appointment for a period extending to or beyond the next general election at which a person may be elected thereto, the governor [may in his or her discretion] shall make a proclamation within ten days of the vacancy of a special election to fill such office, specifying the district or county in which the election is to be held, and the day thereof, which shall be [not less than seventy nor more than eighty] ninety days or on the first Tuesday following the ninety days from the date of the proclamation.
4. A special election shall not be held to fill a vacancy in the office of a representative in congress unless such vacancy occurs on or before the first day of July of the last year of the term of office, or unless it occurs thereafter and a special session of congress is called to meet before the next general election, or be called after September nineteenth of such year[; nor to fill a vacancy in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly, unless the vacancy occurs before the first day of April of the last year of the term of office, or unless the vacancy occurs in either such office of senator or member of assembly after such first day of April and a special session of the legislature be called to meet between such first day of April and the next general election or be called after September nineteenth in such year]. If a special election to fill an office shall not be held as required by law, the office shall be filled at the next general election.
4-b. If a vacancy occurs in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly between one hundred eighty and ninety days prior to an annual primary election or if a vacancy occurs between one hundred eighty and ninety days prior to a general election, the special election shall be held on the day of the annual primary election or general election respectively, with the special primary election to be held on the first Tuesday occurring at least thirty days but no more than thirty-six days prior to the special election.
§ 4. If any section of this act or any part thereof shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair or invalidate the remainder or any other section or part thereof.
§ 5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law.
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.