S 799: Permits a candidate for office to be employed by a board of elections with prior authorization and a majority vote of the elections commissioners.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 799 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MAYER -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to permitting candidates for office to be employees of a board of elections with prior authori- zation and a majority vote of the election commissioners The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 3-304 of the election law, as 2 added by a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the election law relat- 3 ing to prohibiting conflicts of interest among board of elections 4 employees, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.612-D and A. 5 1244-D, is amended to read as follows: 6 2. No board of elections employee shall remain on the board of 7 elections payroll while also a candidate for an office who has an 8 election overseen by the board at which they are employed, without prior 9 authorization by a majority vote of the board of elections commissioners 10 and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the state board. 11 (a) The state board shall promulgate rules and regulations relating to 12 the circumstances that may permit a board of elections to authorize an 13 employee who is also a candidate for an office who has an election over- 14 seen by the board at which they are employed to remain employed, 15 provided that such employee be restricted from working on matters 16 directly related to the election in the jurisdiction in which the 17 employee is a candidate and any other restrictions set forth by state 18 board rules and regulations. 19 (b) For the purposes of this article, a board of elections employee 20 shall be deemed a candidate for elective office upon the filing of a 21 designating or nominating petition for such office or, where nominations 22 for such office are made other than by petition, upon acceptance of a 23 nomination. Such employee may remain in "leave without pay" status until EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02799-01-5 
 S. 799 2 1 such time as their candidacy shall cease, or upon the day following the 2 certification of election results for such office, whichever comes 3 first. 4 (c) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, when there are no 5 primary elections for the office being sought by a candidate that is 6 employed by the board of elections, that candidate may remain on the 7 board of elections payroll for no more than ninety days prior to a 8 general election. 9 (d) The provisions of this subdivision shall not apply to unpaid party 10 positions. 11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same 12 manner as a chapter of the laws of 2024 amending the election law relat- 13 ing to prohibiting conflicts of interest among board of elections 14 employees, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.612-D and A. 15 1244-D, takes effect.