A 8960: Requires the home address of candidates on nomination and designation petitions be redacted prior to the release of such documents to the public.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8960 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY August 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SEAWRIGHT, TAYLOR -- read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to protecting the personal information of candidates for public office The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 6-132 of the election law is amended by adding two 2 new subdivisions 1-a and 2-a to read as follows: 3 1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 4 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 5 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 6 address of the candidate or candidates appearing on such petition shall 7 be redacted in each instance. 8 2-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 9 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 10 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 11 address of the witness to the signatures on such petition shall be 12 redacted in each instance. 13 § 2. Section 6-140 of the election law is amended by adding a new 14 subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 15 1-a. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the 16 release of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of 17 information request or the publication of such document to the public, 18 the home address of the candidate or candidates appearing on such peti- 19 tion shall be redacted in each instance. 20 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 21 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 22 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 23 address of the witness to the signatures on such petition shall be 24 redacted in each instance. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13399-01-5 
 A. 8960 2 1 § 3. Section 6-144 of the election law, as amended by chapter 635 of 2 the laws of 1990, the opening paragraph as amended by chapter 150 of the 3 laws of 1996, is amended to read as follows: 4 § 6-144. Nominating and designating petitions and certificates; place 5 for filing. Petitions, certificates and minutes specified in this arti- 6 cle shall be filed in the office of the Board of Elections of the coun- 7 ty, except as follows: for an office or position to be voted for wholly 8 within the city of New York, in the office of the Board of Elections of 9 that city; for an office or position to be voted for in a district 10 greater than one county, or portions of two or more counties, in the 11 office of the state board of elections; for a village office to be 12 filled in a village election not conducted by the board of elections, in 13 the office of the village clerk. All such petitions and certificates 14 shall at the time of filing thereof be endorsed by such officer or board 15 with the day, hour and minute of such filing. Such officer or board 16 shall keep a book, which shall be open to public inspection in which 17 shall be entered the times of filing all such petitions and certif- 18 icates; the names [and residences] of all candidates named therein; the 19 names [and residences] of all candidates certified to such officer or 20 board; the title of the office or party position; the name of the party 21 or independent body to which the petition or certificate relates and a 22 memorandum of any objections to such petition or certificate. Forthwith 23 upon the filing of a petition or certificate designating or nominating a 24 person or persons for public office, such officer or board shall mail 25 notice thereof to each such person. Such notice shall also state the 26 last day to decline such designation or nomination, and include a state- 27 ment that the candidate's name shall appear on the ballot as it appears 28 in such notice. 29 § 4. Section 6-204 of the election law is amended by adding a new 30 subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 31 1-a. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the 32 release of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of 33 information request or the publication of such document to the public, 34 the home address of the candidate or candidates appearing on such peti- 35 tion shall be redacted in each instance. 36 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 37 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 38 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 39 address of the witness to the signatures on such petition shall be 40 redacted in each instance. 41 § 5. Section 6-206 of the election law is amended by adding a new 42 subdivision 1-a to read as follows: 43 1-a. (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the 44 release of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of 45 information request or the publication of such document to the public, 46 the home address of the candidate or candidates appearing on such peti- 47 tion shall be redacted in each instance. 48 (ii) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 49 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 50 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 51 address of the witness to the signatures on such petition shall be 52 redacted in each instance. 53 § 6. Paragraph a of subdivision 3 of section 15-108 of the election 54 law, as separately amended by chapters 106 and 176 of the laws of 2017, 55 is amended to read as follows: 
 A. 8960 3 1 a. (1) Party designations for elective village offices shall be made 2 on a designating petition containing the signatures in ink of residents 3 of the village who are registered to vote with the appropriate county 4 board of elections at the time of signing and who are enrolled in such 5 political party. The sheets of such a petition shall be numbered. Such 6 petition [must] shall set forth in each instance the correct date of 7 signing, the name of the signer, and [his or her] such signer's present 8 address, and may set forth a committee to fill vacancies consisting of 9 at least three qualified voters of the village enrolled in such party 10 and their residence within the village. A signer need not [himself or 11 herself] fill in the date or residence themselves. Each sheet of such 12 petition [must] shall be in substantially the following form and shall 13 contain all the information required therein: 14 PARTY DESIGNATING PETITION 15 I, the undersigned do hereby state that I am a registered voter of the 16 Village of ...... and a duly enrolled voter of the ........ party and 17 entitled to vote at the next primary election of such party, that my 18 place of residence is truly stated opposite my signature hereto, and I 19 hereby designate the following named person (or persons) as a candidate 20 (or candidates) for nomination of such party for the public office (or 21 public offices) to be voted for at the primary election to be held on 22 the ...... day of ........... 20.... as hereinafter specified. 23 Public Office 24 (include district 25 number, if 26 Name of Candidate applicable) Term Residence 27 .................... ................. ....... ............... 28 .................... ................. ....... ............... 29 I do hereby appoint (insert names and addresses of at least three 30 persons, all of whom shall be enrolled voters of said party) as a 31 committee to fill vacancies in accordance with the provisions of the 32 election law. 33 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand, the day and year 34 placed opposite my signature. 35 Date Name Residence 36 ............. ............. ............... 37 ............. ............. ............... 38 STATEMENT OF WITNESS 39 I ............... (name of witness) state: I am a duly qualified voter 40 of the State of New York; and an enrolled voter of the ......... party. 41 I now reside at ..............(residence address). Each of the persons 42 whose names are subscribed to this petition sheet 43 containing ......... signatures, subscribed [his or her] their name in 44 my presence. 45 I understand that this statement will be accepted for all purposes as 46 the equivalent of an affidavit and, if it contains a material false 
 A. 8960 4 1 statement, shall subject me to the same penalties as if I had been duly 2 sworn. 3 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 4 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 5 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 6 address of the candidate or candidates appearing on such petition shall 7 be redacted in each instance. 8 (3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, prior to the release 9 of a designation or nomination petition through a freedom of information 10 request or the publication of such document to the public, the home 11 address of the witness to the signatures on such petition shall be 12 redacted in each instance. 13 § 7. Subdivision 8 of section 3-220 of the election law, as added by 14 section 6 of part F of chapter 55 of the laws of 2024, is amended to 15 read as follows: 16 8. Where a board of elections receives a notification pursuant to 17 paragraph (c) of subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty-nine of 18 the judiciary law, such board of elections shall comply with such 19 notification[, except that where the notification requires the board of 20 elections to cease making a person's address public, such board shall 21 not comply therewith from the date of filing of any ballot access or 22 related document containing such address until thirty days after the 23 last day to commence a special proceeding or action with respect to such 24 filing]. 25 § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.