Provides that if a school building is designated as a polling place, the board or body which controls such building shall provide a space that is not easily accessible to areas of the building where instructional activities are taking place, and if such a space cannot be provided that meets such criteria, the board or agency which controls such building shall cancel in-person instructional activities during the operating hours of such poll site.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5093
SPONSOR: O'Pharrow TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to the use of school
buildings as polling sites
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this bill is to direct the board or agency in control of
a school building to cancel in-person instructional activity when the
building is operating as a poll site if a space that is separate or
isolated from instructional activities cannot be provided.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104 of the election law, as
amended by chapter '694 of the laws of 1989 is amended to provide that
in the event a school is unable to identify and allocate a space sepa-
rate or isolated from instructional activity for the purposes of operat-
ing a poll site, the board or agency that controls the school building
shall cancel in-person instructional activities during the operations of
poll site activity.
Section 2. Is the enacting clause.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ORIGINAL AND AMENDED VERSION (IF APPLICABLE):
N/A
JUSTIFICATION:
Designating schools as poll sites is crucial for the democratic process.
However, it can compromise student safety and security if proper protec-
tive measures are not in place. To ensure a secure environment for
students, it is essential to limit the influx of people entering and
leaving the school during voting hours.. Thus, it is important that if a
school is unable to provide a separate or isolated area inaccessible to
where educational instruction is taking place, such in-person educa-
tional instruction shall be cancelled for the day. If that is the case,
school districts have the ability to decide how the day is allocated
with options including conducting instructional activity in virtual
mode, hosting parent-teacher conferences, etc.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
N/A
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5093
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. O'PHARROW -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the use of school
buildings as polling sites
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 4-104 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 694 of the laws of 1989, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 3. A building exempt from taxation shall be used whenever possible as
5 a polling place if it is situated in the same or a contiguous election
6 district, and may contain as many distinctly separate polling places as
7 public convenience may require. The expense, if any, incidental to its
8 use, shall be paid like the expense of other places of registration and
9 voting. If a board or body empowered to designate polling places chooses
10 a public school building for such purpose, the board or agency which
11 controls such building must make available a room or rooms in such
12 building which are suitable for registration and voting and which are as
13 close as possible to a convenient entrance to such building and must
14 make available any such room or rooms which the board or body designat-
15 ing such building determines are accessible to physically disabled
16 voters as provided in subdivision one-a and shall provide a space that
17 is not easily accessible to areas of the building where instructional
18 activities are taking place, if such a space cannot be provided that
19 meets such criteria, the board or agency which controls such building
20 shall cancel in-person instructional activities during the operating
21 hours of such poll site. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general,
22 special or local law, if a board or body empowered to designate polling
23 places chooses a publicly owned or leased building, other than a public
24 school building, for such purposes the board or body which controls such
25 building must make available a room or rooms in such building which are
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09133-01-5
A. 5093 2
1 suitable for registration and voting and which are as close as possible
2 to a convenient entrance to such building, and must make available any
3 such room or rooms which the board or body designating such building
4 determines are accessible to physically disabled voters unless, not
5 later than thirty days after notice of its designation as a polling
6 place, the board or body controlling such building, files a written
7 request for a cancellation of such designation with the board or body
8 empowered to designate polling places on such form as shall be provided
9 by the board or body making such designation. The board or body
10 empowered to so designate shall, within twenty days after such request
11 is filed, determine whether the use of such building as a polling place
12 would unreasonably interfere with the usual activities conducted in such
13 building and upon such determination, may cancel such designation.
14 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
