New York Senate Bill S02543 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2543 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. MYRIE, MAY, SERRANO -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to notifying voters of the candidates and upcoming elections The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 8 of the election law is amended by adding a new 2 title 8 to read as follows: 3 TITLE VIII 4 VOTER NOTIFICATIONS 5 Section 8-800. Voting guide. 6 8-802. Postcards. 7 8-804. Television and radio. 8 § 8-800. Voting guide. 1. Any candidate seeking nomination or election 9 at the next general and primary election to any public office, or a 10 designated agent acting on behalf of such candidate, may, at least six 11 weeks prior to the general and primary election, file with the board of 12 elections with which nominating and designating petitions and certif- 13 icates for such office are filed pursuant to section 6-144 of this chap- 14 ter a sworn statement containing biographical information, such as the 15 candidate's occupation, educational and occupational background, prior 16 governmental experience, and any other personal background or experience 17 that the candidate deems relevant to the election campaign, and answers 18 to issue based questions drafted by the state board of elections that 19 are specified to each position. 20 2. The state board of elections shall, by regulation, establish the 21 format and length of the statement authorized under this section and 22 shall provide to candidates a standardized form for preparing such 23 statement. 24 3. Within five days after the last day for filing statements under 25 this section, all local boards of elections shall forward all such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06777-01-5 
 S. 2543 2 1 candidate biographies to the state board of elections in electronic form 2 in a manner to be prescribed by the state board of elections. 3 4. In the event that any candidate biographies received by the state 4 board of elections, from any local board of elections, is not in elec- 5 tronic form, the state board of elections shall, within ten days after 6 receipt of such candidate biography, convert such candidate biography to 7 electronic form. 8 5. The state board of elections shall email, if a registered voter's 9 email is available to the state board of elections, to every registered 10 voter in the state a voting guide consisting of all biographical infor- 11 mation and answers to issue based questions, as outlined in subdivision 12 one of this section, received from each candidate for whom the receiver 13 of this mailing can vote for in the upcoming election. The board shall 14 also mail at least one physical copy of the voting guide to each house- 15 hold with a registered voter in the state. In the event the state board 16 of elections determines that distribution of the voting guide would be 17 more efficient and economical if done by the local boards of elections, 18 the state board is hereby authorized to instruct all boards of elections 19 to distribute the voting guide to at least one registered voter in each 20 household. Should the state board so instruct the boards of elections, 21 it shall provide a sufficient number of voting guides to each board of 22 elections and shall promptly reimburse each board for the actual cost of 23 postage incurred by said board in distributing the voting guides 24 provided that said board utilize the lowest feasible postage rate 25 charged by the United States postal service. The distribution of the 26 voting guides to registered voters or households shall be made at least 27 three weeks before the election to which they pertain. 28 6. The state board of elections shall maintain a website where all 29 voter guide information is maintained, updated and accessible to the 30 general public. 31 § 8-802. Postcards. For each primary and general election, the state 32 board of elections shall email, if a registered voter's email is avail- 33 able to the state board of elections, a postcard which contains informa- 34 tion for the upcoming election that contains the date of the election. 35 The board shall also mail at least two physical postcards to each house- 36 hold with a registered voter in the state. The board shall send the 37 postcards twice before the election with the first mailing to be made no 38 earlier than fifteen days and no later than ten days prior to the 39 election; and with the second mailing to be made no earlier than seven 40 days and no later than five days before the election. 41 § 8-804. Television and radio. For ten consecutive days before each 42 primary and general election, all major television and radio stations 43 using public airwaves or doing business within the state shall inform 44 their audience at least four times each day between the hours of seven 45 a.m. and eleven p.m. of the upcoming election. Each of the four required 46 notifications shall air at least three hours apart. 47 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 48 it shall have become a law.