Decreases the amount of unused ballots to be stored following an election by requiring only ten unused ballots for each ballot lot or style printed to be stored for two years following an election.

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S5211-2011 Actions

• Jun 15, 2011: SUBSTITUTED BY A6767A
• Jun 13, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Jun 7, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Jun 6, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.1030
• May 3, 2011: REFERRED TO ELECTIONS

S5211-2011 Meetings

Elections: Jun 6, 2011

S5211-2011 Calendars

Active List: Jun 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 15, 2011

S5211-2011 Votes

S5211-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S5211        REVISED 05/31/11

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the election law, in relation to
the preservation of
unused ballots

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Current law states that all unused
and wholly blank ballots including special federal, local, special
presidential, absentee and military, and emergency ballots must be
preserved for two years after the election. This act pertains ONLY to
unused ballots and amends current law by permitting sealed packages
of unused ballots to be retained for four months and then may be
destroyed provided that a certificate articulating the election
district identifying data and numbers of such ballots is filed with
the balance of the ballots described in section 3-222 for the balance
of the two year retention period.

SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Subdivision 2, 3, 4 and 5 of section
3-222 of the election law, as amended by chapter 163 of the laws of
1994 is amended.

JUSTIFICATION:
The purpose of the act is to relieve the overwhelming
financial burden of local and county boards of elections from
warehouses costs associated with the storage of excessive unused
election ballots.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
None.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
No cost to the State. Significant savings to
local and county boards of elections. (To be determined)

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S5211-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    5211

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 May 3, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen.  O'MARA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections

  AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation  to  the  preservation  of
    unused ballots

    THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
  BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 3-222  of  the  election  law,  as
  amended  by  chapter  163  of  the  laws  of 1994, is amended to read as
  follows:

    2. [Write-in] VOTED ballots shall be preserved  for  two  years  after
  such  election  and  the packages thereof may be opened and the contents
  examined only upon order of a court or judge of competent  jurisdiction,
  or  by  direction  of  such  committee of the senate and assembly if the
  ballots relate to the election under investigation  by  such  committee,
  and  at  the expiration of such time, such ballots may be disposed of at
  the discretion of the officer or board having charge of them.
    S 2. Subdivisions 3, 4, and 5 of section 3-222 of the election law, as
  amended by chapter 163 of the laws of  1994,  are  amended  to  read  as
  follows:

    3.  Except  as  hereinafter  provided, packages of protested, void and
  wholly blank ballots, OPEN packages of unused ballots and  all  absentee
  and  military,  special  federal,  special  presidential  and  emergency
  ballots and ballot envelopes, if  any,  opened  or  unopened,  shall  be
  preserved  for  two years after the election.  SEALED PACKAGES OF UNUSED
  BALLOTS SHALL BE RETAINED FOR FOUR MONTHS, AND MAY  THEN  BE  DESTROYED,
  PROVIDED  A  CERTIFICATE  ARTICULATING THE ELECTION DISTRICT IDENTIFYING
  DATA AND NUMBERS OF SUCH BALLOTS IS FILED WITH THE  BALANCE  OF  BALLOTS
  DESCRIBED  IN  THIS  SECTION,  FOR THE BALANCE OF THE TWO YEAR RETENTION
  PERIOD. Except as hereinafter provided,  boxes  containing  voted  paper
  ballots,  IF  ANY shall be preserved inviolate for four months after the
  election, or until one month before the next election  occurring  within

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD10533-03-1

 S. 5211                             2

  five  months after a preceding election if such boxes are needed for use
  at such next election and if the officer or  board  in  charge  of  such
  voted paper ballots is required by law to furnish ballot boxes therefor.
  Provided,  however,  that  such  ballot  boxes  and such packages may be
  opened, and their contents and the absentee and military, special feder-
  al, special presidential and emergency ballots and ballot envelopes  may
  be  examined, upon the order of any court or justice of competent juris-
  diction. Boxes and envelopes containing absentee, military and emergency
  ballots voted at a general or special election, for the office of member
  of the senate or assembly, packages of void, protested and wholly  blank
  ballots,  unopened  absentee and military ballot envelopes and the pack-
  ages of unused ballots, in connection with such election,  also  may  be
  opened,  and  their contents and such envelopes also may be examined, by
  direction of a committee of the senate or assembly  to  investigate  and
  report  on  contested  elections  of  members of the legislature. Unless
  otherwise ordered or directed by such a  court,  justice  or  committee,
  such  boxes shall be opened and their contents and such packages and the
  envelopes  containing  voted  ballots  and  ballot  envelopes  shall  be
  destroyed,  at  the  expiration  of  the  period  during  which they are
  required by the provisions of this section to be preserved, except  that
  instead  of being destroyed, they may be sold and the proceeds paid over
  in the manner provided with respect to the sale of  books,  records  and
  papers pertaining to an election.
    [4.  The  results  of the annual test of each voting machine of a type
  approved after September first, nineteen hundred  eighty-six,  which  is
  required by this chapter, shall be preserved for two years.
    5.]  4.  All records and documents pertaining to ballot label program-
  ming and ballot label programming data for any election for  any  voting
  machine  of  a  type  approved  after  September first, nineteen hundred
  eighty-six and all records pertaining to the PERIODIC MAINTENANCE  test-
  ing  of  any such programming and programming data or the testing of any
  such machine in connection with any such election shall be preserved for
  two years after such election.
    S 3. This act shall take effect immediately.