Bill Text: NY A07561 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits conflicts of interest among board of elections employees; prevents a board of elections employee from remaining on the board of elections payroll while also a candidate for an office who has an election overseen by the board at which they are employed; allows for a member to remain on the board until 90 days before the general election if there is no primary for such office.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to election law [A07561 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A07561-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7561

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      May 13, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Election Law

        AN  ACT  to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting conflicts
          of interest among board of elections employees

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-304
     2  to read as follows:
     3    § 3-304. Board employees;  conflicts  of  interest.  1.  No  board  of
     4  elections  employee shall engage in or participate in any trade or busi-
     5  ness which creates, or may  tend  to  create,  an  actual  or  potential
     6  conflict  of  interest.  No board of elections employee shall maintain a
     7  financial interest, directly  or  indirectly,  in  a  company  providing
     8  services  to a candidate who has an election overseen by such employee's
     9  office, including but  not  limited  to,  printing  companies,  election
    10  consulting companies, direct mail companies and digital marketing compa-
    11  nies.  No  board of elections employee shall maintain a financial inter-
    12  est, directly or indirectly, in or be employed by a  vendor  or  company
    13  that  sells  voting  machines,  electronic  pollbooks, printers or other
    14  technical or electronic equipment.  A violation of any of the provisions
    15  of this subdivision shall be  cause  for  discipline  by  the  board  of
    16  elections, including removal of the board of elections employee.
    17    2.  No  board  of  elections  employee  shall  remain  on the board of
    18  elections payroll while also a  candidate  for  an  office  who  has  an
    19  election  overseen  by  the  board  at  which they are employed. For the
    20  purposes of this article, a board of elections employee shall be  deemed
    21  a candidate for elective office upon the filing of designating petitions
    22  for  such  office  or,  where nominations for such office are made other
    23  than by petition, upon acceptance of a  nomination.  Such  employee  may
    24  remain  in  "leave  without  pay"  status  until such time as his or her
    25  candidacy shall cease, or upon the day following  the  certification  of

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02370-07-1
        A. 7561                             2

     1  election results for such office, whichever comes first. Notwithstanding
     2  the  provisions of this section, when there are no primary elections for
     3  the office being sought by a candidate that is employed by the board  of
     4  elections,  that  candidate may remain on the board of elections payroll
     5  for no more than ninety days prior to a general election.
     6    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that subdivision
     7  1 of section 3-304 of the election law, as added by section one of  this
     8  act, shall take effect one year after this act shall have become a law.