Bill Text: NY A02854 | 2013-2014 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Reduces the numbers of signatures required on designating and independent nominating petitions for statewide and local offices; reduces the required numbers of signatures by half or approximately half.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 5-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-08 - referred to election law [A02854 Detail]

Download: New_York-2013-A02854-Introduced.html
                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2854
                              2013-2014 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   January 18, 2013
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M. of A. CLARK, GALEF, KAVANAGH -- Multi-Sponsored by --
         M. of A. BRENNAN, DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the  Committee
         on Election Law
       AN  ACT  to amend the election law, in relation to signature requirement
         on designating and nominating petitions
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1. Subdivisions 1 and 2 of section 6-136 of the election law,
    2  subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 200 of the laws of 1996, subdivision
    3  2 as amended by chapter 79 of the laws of 1992, the opening paragraph of
    4  subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 659 of the laws of  1994  and  para-
    5  graph  (c-1)  of  subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 418 of the laws of
    6  1993, are amended to read as follows:
    7    1. Petitions for any office to be filled by the voters of  the  entire
    8  state  must  be signed by not less than [fifteen thousand or five] SEVEN
    9  THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED OR TWO AND ONE-HALF per centum, whichever is less,
   10  of the then enrolled voters of the party in the state (excluding  voters
   11  in  inactive  status), of whom not less than [one hundred or five] FIFTY
   12  OR TWO AND ONE-HALF per centum, whichever  is  less,  of  such  enrolled
   13  voters  shall  reside in each of one-half of the congressional districts
   14  of the state.
   15    2. All other petitions must be signed by not less than [five] TWO  AND
   16  ONE-HALF  per  centum, as determined by the preceding enrollment, of the
   17  then enrolled voters of the party residing within the political unit  in
   18  which  the  office  or  position is to be voted for (excluding voters in
   19  inactive status), provided,  however,  that  for  the  following  public
   20  offices the number of signatures need not exceed the following limits:
   21    (a) For any office to be filled by all voters of the city of New York,
   22  [seven  thousand five hundred] THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY signa-
   23  tures;
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD06674-01-3
       A. 2854                             2
    1    (b) For any office to be filled by all the voters  of  any  county  or
    2  borough within the city of New York, [four] TWO thousand signatures;
    3    (c)  For  any  office  to be filled in the city of New York by all the
    4  voters of any municipal court  district,  [one  thousand  five  hundred]
    5  SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY signatures;
    6    (c-1)  For  any office to be filled in the city of New York by all the
    7  voters of any city council district, [nine hundred] FOUR  HUNDRED  FIFTY
    8  signatures;
    9    (d)  For  any office to be filled by all the voters of cities or coun-
   10  ties, except the city of New York and counties therein, containing  more
   11  than  two  hundred  fifty  thousand  inhabitants  according  to the last
   12  preceding federal enumeration, [two] ONE thousand signatures;
   13    (e) For any office to be filled by all the voters of cities  or  coun-
   14  ties  containing  more  than  twenty-five thousand and not more than two
   15  hundred fifty thousand inhabitants,  according  to  the  last  preceding
   16  federal enumeration, [one thousand] FIVE HUNDRED signatures;
   17    (f) For any office to be filled by all the voters of any other city or
   18  county, or of a councilmanic district in any city other than the city of
   19  New York, [five hundred] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY signatures;
   20    (g) For any office to be filled by all the voters of any congressional
   21  district, [twelve hundred fifty] SIX HUNDRED FIFTY signatures;
   22    (h) For any office to be filled by all the voters of any state senato-
   23  rial district, [one thousand] FIVE HUNDRED signatures;
   24    (i)  For  any  office  to  be  filled  by  all  voters of any assembly
   25  district, [five hundred] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY signatures;
   26    (j) For any office to be filled by all the  voters  of  any  political
   27  subdivision,  except  as  herein  otherwise  provided,  contained within
   28  another political subdivision, not to exceed the  number  of  signatures
   29  required for the larger subdivision;
   30    (k)  For  any  other  office to be filled by the voters of a political
   31  subdivision containing more than one assembly district, county or  other
   32  political  subdivision,  not  to  exceed the aggregate of the signatures
   33  required for the subdivisions or parts of subdivisions so contained; and
   34    (l) For any county legislative district, [five  hundred]  TWO  HUNDRED
   35  FIFTY signatures.
   36    S  2.  Section  6-142 of the election law, as amended by chapter 79 of
   37  the laws of 1992 and paragraph (d-1) of  subdivision  2  as  amended  by
   38  chapter 418 of the laws of 1993, is amended to read as follows:
   39    S  6-142.  Independent  nominations; number of signatures. 1. An inde-
   40  pendent nominating petition for candidates to be voted for  by  all  the
   41  voters  of the state must be signed by at least [fifteen thousand] SEVEN
   42  THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED voters, of whom at least [one hundred] FIFTY shall
   43  reside in each of one-half of the congressional districts of the State.
   44    2. An independent nominating petition for the nomination of candidates
   45  for an office to be filled by the voters of  any  other  political  unit
   46  must be signed by voters numbering [five] TWO AND ONE-HALF per centum of
   47  the  total  number  of votes cast for governor at the last gubernatorial
   48  election in such unit, excluding blank and void votes, except  that  not
   49  more than [three thousand five hundred] ONE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY
   50  signatures shall be required upon any such petition for any office to be
   51  filled in any political subdivision of the state wholly outside the city
   52  of New York, and not more than the following numbers of signatures shall
   53  be  required  upon  any  such  petition for the following public offices
   54  respectively:
       A. 2854                             3
    1    (a) for any office to be filled  in  any  county  or  portion  thereof
    2  outside  the city of New York, [one thousand five hundred] SEVEN HUNDRED
    3  FIFTY;
    4    (b)  for  any office to be filled by all the voters of the city of New
    5  York, [seven thousand five hundred] THREE THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY;
    6    (b-1) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any  two  coun-
    7  ties in such city, [four] TWO thousand;
    8    (c)  for  any  office  to be filled by all the voters of any county or
    9  borough in such city, [four] TWO thousand;
   10    (d) for any office to be filled by all the  voters  of  any  municipal
   11  court district, [three thousand] ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED signatures;
   12    (d-1)  for  any office to be filled in the city of New York by all the
   13  voters of any city council district, [two thousand  seven  hundred]  ONE
   14  THOUSAND THREE HUNDRED FIFTY;
   15    (e) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any congressional
   16  district,  [three  thousand  five  hundred]  ONE  THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED
   17  FIFTY;
   18    (f) for any office to be filled by all the voters of any state senato-
   19  rial district, [three thousand] ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED;
   20    (g) for any office to be filled by  all  the  voters  of  an  assembly
   21  district, [one thousand five hundred] SEVEN HUNDRED FIFTY;
   22    (h)  for  the  office  of  trustee of the Long Island Power Authority,
   23  [five hundred] TWO HUNDRED FIFTY;
   24    (i) for any office to be filled by the voters of any political  subdi-
   25  vision  contained  within another political subdivision except as herein
   26  otherwise provided, not to exceed the number of signatures required  for
   27  the larger subdivision.
   28    S 3. This act shall take effect on the first of December next succeed-
   29  ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
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