STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7191 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE June 4, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to write-in ballots The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6-164 of the election law, as amended by chapter 2 440 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 3 § 6-164. Primary, uncontested; opportunity to ballot. Enrolled members 4 of a party entitled to vote in the nomination of a candidate for public 5 office or the election of a candidate for party position in a primary 6 election of such party, and equal in number to at least the number of 7 signers required to designate a candidate for such office or position 8 may file with the officer or board with whom or which are filed desig- 9 nating petitions for such office or position a petition requesting an 10 opportunity to write in the name of a candidate or candidates enrolled 11 in such party, who need not be specified, for such office or position. 12 Upon the receipt of such a petition, such office or position shall be 13 deemed contested and the primary ballots of the party shall afford an 14 opportunity to vote thereon. Requests for an opportunity to write in the 15 names of candidates for two or more offices or positions may be included 16 in the same petition. Such petitions shall be subject to objections and 17 court determination thereof in the same manner as designating petitions 18 so far as the provisions therefor are applicable. All required notices 19 shall be served on the members of the committee named in the petition, 20 and such committee shall have capacity to bring a proceeding under this 21 chapter as if such committee was a candidate named on a petition. A 22 signature to a petition for an opportunity to ballot in primary 23 elections made earlier than sixteen days before the last day to file 24 designating petitions for the primary election shall not be counted. 25 § 2. Subdivision 2 of section 6-166 of the election law, as amended by 26 chapter 235 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11625-04-1

S. 7191 2 1 2. Each sheet of such petition shall be signed in ink and shall be 2 substantially in the following form: 3 I, the undersigned, do hereby state that I am a duly enrolled voter of 4 the .......... party and entitled to vote at the next primary election 5 of such party, that my place of residence is truly stated opposite my 6 signature hereto, and I do hereby request an opportunity to write in the 7 name of an undesignated candidate or candidates enrolled in such party 8 for nomination to the public office or offices or for election to the 9 party position or positions, in the political unit or units of represen- 10 tation hereinafter set forth, of such party to be voted on the .....day 11 of ............. 20...., as hereinafter specified. 12 Public Office or party Political unit or unit of 13 position ............. representation................. 14 The appointment of a committee to receive notices, the signatures on the 15 petition with all required information and the signed statement of a 16 witness or authentication by a notary public or commissioner of deeds, 17 shall be in the form prescribed for a designating petition. 18 § 3. Section 8-308 of the election law, subdivision 2 as amended and 19 subdivision 3 as renumbered by chapter 13 of the laws of 1988, and 20 subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 395 of the laws of 2015, is amended 21 to read as follows: 22 § 8-308. Voting; voting [~~machine~~] write-in. 1. Ballots voted for any 23 person whose name does not appear on the [~~machine~~] ballot as a nominated 24 or designated candidate for public office or party position are referred 25 to in this article as write-in ballots. 26 2. No write-in ballot shall be voted for any person for any office 27 whose name appears on the [~~machine~~] ballot as a nominated or designated 28 candidate for the office or position in question; any write-in ballot so 29 voted shall not be counted. 30 3. A write-in ballot must be cast in its appropriate place on the 31 [~~machine~~] ballot, or it shall be void and not counted. 32 4. A write-in ballot cast in a party primary for a candidate not 33 enrolled in such party shall be void and not counted. 34 5. A write-in ballot may also be cast by the use of a name stamp. The 35 use of name stickers, labels or pasters is prohibited. 36 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.

Relates to write-in ballots

What's Happening

Why It Matters