STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4384 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. PAULIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing deadlines for finalizing and objecting to nominating petitions for small city school board elections 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 2608 of the education law, 2 subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 273 of the laws of 1987 and subdivi- 3 sion 2 as amended by chapter 502 of the laws of 1974, are amended to 4 read as follows: 5 1. Candidates for members of the board of education in a city school 6 district shall be nominated by petition directed to the board of educa- 7 tion and signed by at least one hundred persons qualified to vote at 8 school elections in such district. Such petition shall contain the names 9 and residences of the candidates for the vacancies in the board of 10 education to be filled at the annual election. Where a proposition has 11 been adopted by the voters of such district to require that each vacancy 12 on the board of education to be filled shall be considered a separate 13 specific office, a separate petition shall be required to nominate a 14 candidate to each separate office and such petition shall describe the 15 specific vacancy on the board of education for which the candidate is 16 nominated, which description shall include at least the length of the 17 term of office and the name of the last incumbent, if any. Such 18 petitions shall be filed in the office of the clerk of the board of 19 education between the hours of nine a.m. and five p.m., on or before the 20 [twentieth] thirtieth day preceding the day of the annual election. The 21 clerk shall refuse to accept petitions signed by an insufficient number 22 of qualified voters, or petitions which are not timely. Beginning on the 23 following day, and for a five-day period thereafter, qualified voters of 24 the district may object to the placement of one or more names on the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05798-01-5
A. 4384 2 1 ballot, on the following bases: insufficient number of signatures; 2 signatories who are not qualified to vote in such election; insufficient 3 candidate information; or failing to file before the deadline. The board 4 shall then have five days to examine each objection and determine wheth- 5 er to remove the names of one or more candidates from the ballot. The 6 clerk of the board of education shall finalize the ballot on the twenti- 7 eth day preceding the day of the annual election, in accordance with 8 subdivision two of this section, after the board has examined and 9 decided on all objections. If a candidate for whom a nominating petition 10 for the office of member of a board of education has been duly filed 11 withdraws such petition, dies or becomes otherwise ineligible to hold 12 such office at a time which is later than fifteen days before the last 13 day for the filing of nominating petitions as provided in this subdivi- 14 sion, the time for filing nominating petitions for such office shall be 15 extended to five p.m. on the fifteenth day after the date on which the 16 candidate withdrew, died or otherwise became ineligible to hold such 17 office, provided that no such nominating petition may be filed after 18 five p.m. on the seventh day preceding the election. 19 2. The board of education shall cause to be printed official ballots 20 containing the names of all candidates as above provided, except that 21 the board may refuse to have the names of ineligible candidates placed 22 on such ballots. The names of the candidates shall be [arranged] listed 23 in the order as determined by the drawing by lot in accordance with the 24 provisions of paragraph b of subdivision two of section two thousand 25 thirty-two of this [law] title. Such drawing shall be conducted by the 26 clerk of the board of education and shall be held on the twentieth day 27 preceding the day of the annual election. Blank spaces shall be provided 28 so that voters may vote for candidates who have not been nominated for 29 the offices to be filled at such elections. The form of such ballots 30 shall conform substantially to the form of ballots used at general 31 elections as prescribed in the election law. Such ballots shall be 32 printed at the expense of the city school district. 33 § 2. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 2032 of the education 34 law, as amended by chapter 502 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read 35 as follows: 36 b. The names of all candidates for each separate specific office shall 37 be grouped together and at the top of each group shall be placed a 38 description of the separate specific office for which such candidates 39 are nominated, which description shall include at least the length of 40 the term of office and the name of the last incumbent, if any, and in 41 addition a direction that only one vote may be cast in each separate 42 group. The names of the candidates for each separate specific office 43 shall be listed in the order as determined by a drawing by lot. [Such] 44 Except for districts subject to the procedures in subdivision two of 45 section two thousand six hundred eight of this title, such drawing shall 46 be conducted by the clerk of the board of education and shall be held 47 the day after the last possible date for candidates to file a petition. 48 In the event that any candidate is not present in person or by a person 49 designated in a written proxy to accomplish the drawing, the district 50 clerk shall be authorized to act as proxy. In any district where a 51 proposition has been adopted pursuant to [paragraph] subdivision b of 52 section two thousand eighteen of this title, the names of all candidates 53 for vacancies upon the board of education shall be arranged according to 54 lot as prescribed in this section, and a direction shall be made that as 55 many candidates may be voted for as there are vacancies to be filled. 56 § 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.