BILL NUMBER: S612D
SPONSOR: MAYER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting conflicts
of interest among board of elections employees
 
PURPOSE:
To end the actual and perceived conflicts of interests of board of
elections employees caused by outside income related to the adminis-
tration of elections and supervision of elections in which they are
candidates.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the election law by adding a new section 3-304 that
prohibits any board of elections employee from engaging or participating
in any trade or business that creates or tends to create an actual or
potential conflict of interest. The bill prohibits a board of elections
employee from maintaining any direct financial interest in a company
that provides services to a candidate who has an election overseen by
that employee's office. The bill also prohibits a board of elections
employee from maintaining any direct financial interest in a company
that sells voting machines, electronic poll books or other electronic
equipment to the board.
In addition, the bill prohibits any board of elections employee from
remaining on the board's payroll while running for an office that is
supervised by the board at which they are employed. Such an employee may
remain in "leave without pay" status until the time when either their
candidacy ends, or up until the day following certification of election
results, whichever comes first. However,this prohibition shall not apply
to unpaid party positions.
Finally, the bill clarifies that it is not a conflict of interest for a
board employee, who is a member of a county committee, a district lead-
er, a member of the state committee, or a delegate to a national party
convention and who endorses or supports a candidate for a party or
public office as part of their duties in said party position.
Section 2 sets the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Election integrity is critical to our democratic process. In order for
it to work, the public must have faith that boards of election are
acting in the best interest of the public and fairly administering
elections. Currently, this faith is being called into question on a
regular basis.
Board of election employees and commissioners of elections responsible
for purchasing voting equipment are allowed to be paid as consultants of
the vendors who are selling this equipment to the board. In addition,
employees and commissioners act as campaign managers and high level
consultants for the candidates whose votes they are charged with count-
ing. Recently, a candidate for town board and a board of elections
employee was in charge of deciding which polling sites in their town
would remain open when sites were reduced because of COVID-19. These
situations have drawn public scrutiny and criticism. The public must be
confident that the board of elections is ensuring fair elections and not
individual benefit.
This legislation addresses this issue by preventing board of elections
employees from engaging or participating in any trade or business that
creates or may create an actual or potential conflict of interest. It
adds a critical layer of accountability to the pursuit of free and fair
elections in New York State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021/22: S4542-A (Mayer) / A7561 (Jacobson): passed Senate (2021);
passed Senate (2022)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a law.