Senate BillIntroduced
S 4796: Relates to enacting the "Esther Salas candidate privacy act" providing the option for candidates for office and petition witnesses not to put their address on designation petitions but instead file such with the county clerk for a fee.
What S 4796 does, verified January 8, 2026
The "Esther Salas Candidate Privacy Act" aims to provide candidates for local or state elective offices and petition witnesses with the option to keep their addresses private. Candidates and witnesses can choose not to provide their addresses on designation petitions, but must instead provide proof of address and a sworn affidavit to the county clerk. A fee of $100 will be assessed to the candidate for opting out of providing their address, with an additional $200 fee for the candidate and all petition witnesses. A fine of $1,000 will be imposed on candidates or witnesses who knowingly provide false information to the county clerk. The act takes effect immediately.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO ELECTIONS (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 4796
- What is the current status of S 4796?
- As of January 8, 2026, S 4796 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO ELECTIONS".
- Did S 4796 pass?
- Not yet. S 4796 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 4796, and where is it now?
- S 4796 was authored by Sen. James Sanders. Its committee of record is Senate Elections.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions2 total · showing 2
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO ELECTIONS |
| Feb. 12, 2025 | REFERRED TO ELECTIONS |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, February 12, 2025 · 339 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4796 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 12, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SANDERS -- 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 providing the option for candidates for office and petition witnesses not to put their address on designation petitions The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Esther Salas candidate privacy act". 3 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 6-131 to read 4 as follows: 5 § 6-131. Designating petition; candidate and witness information. 1. 6 Notwithstanding any other section of law, any candidate for local or 7 state elective office, or petition witnesses for such elective offices, 8 shall have the option to not provide their address of residence on a 9 petition to seek elective office. If this option is taken, the candidate 10 or petition witness shall provide proof of address and a sworn affida- 11 vit, on penalty of perjury, to the county clerk in the county where the 12 election is to be held. 13 2. A fee of one hundred dollars shall be assessed by the county clerk 14 to any candidate opting to not provide their address of residence on the 15 petition and a two hundred dollar fee to cover the cost for the candi- 16 date and all of their petition witnesses to not provide their address of 17 residence. 18 3. A fine of one thousand dollars shall be imposed on a candidate or 19 petition witness for knowingly providing false material information to 20 the county clerk. 21 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09612-01-5
Text of S 4796 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions