Int. No. 2479
By Council Members Dinowitz, Riley, Powers, Yeger, Adams, Ayala, Louis and Feliz
A Local Law to amend the New York city charter, in relation to requiring information about elections for non-municipal offices, ballot proposals and referenda in the voter guide
Be it enacted by the Council as follows:
Section 1. Paragraphs 1 and 2 of subdivision b of section 1052 of the New York city charter, paragraph 1 as amended by local law number 170 for the year 2016, and paragraph 2 as added by such local law, are amended to read as follows:
b. 1. The board shall take [such] actions [as it deems necessary and appropriate] to improve public awareness of the candidates, ballot proposals or referenda in all elections in which there are (i) contested elections for the offices of mayor, public advocate, borough presidents, comptroller, or city council or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to this charter or the municipal home rule law, [including] and (ii) other contested elections held in the city of New York for city, county, state or federal office or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to city, county, state or federal law that coincide with the elections, ballot proposals or referenda described in (i) of this paragraph, excluding elections for positions provided by articles 2 and 6 of the election law. Such actions shall include, but not necessarily be limited to the publication of and outreach to voters and stakeholders regarding a non-partisan, impartial voter guide in at least one media format providing information on such candidates, ballot proposals and referenda, and the distribution of one copy of such guide to each household in which there is at least one registered voter eligible to vote in the election involved. A voter may opt out of receiving a printed copy of such guide and the board shall comply with this request to the extent feasible.
2. The board shall also take [such] actions [as it deems necessary and appropriate] to improve public awareness of the candidates in all other contested elections held in the city of New York for any city, county, state, or federal office or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to city, county, state, or federal law, including but not necessarily limited to the publication of and outreach to voters and stakeholders regarding a non-partisan, impartial voter guide in at least one media format providing information on such candidates, ballot proposals or referenda. The board shall coordinate with other agencies in general and specialized efforts to improve public awareness of such candidates, proposals, or referenda.
§ 2. The opening paragraph and paragraph 1 of subdivision a of section 1053 of the New York city charter, as amended by local law number 170 for the year 2016, are amended to read as follows:
a. For all elections in which there are (i) contested elections for the offices of mayor, public advocate, borough presidents, comptroller, or city council or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to this charter or the municipal home rule law, [each] and (ii) other contested elections held in the city of New York for city, county, state or federal office or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to city, county, state or federal law that coincide with the elections, ballot proposals or referenda described in (i) of this subdivision, excluding elections for positions provided by articles 2 and 6 of the election law, there shall be a printed and an online voter guide published by the board, which shall contain:
1. material explaining the date and hours during which the polls will be open for that election; when, where, and how to register to vote; when a citizen is required to reregister; when, where, and how absentee ballots are obtained and used; instructions on how to vote, including, but not limited to, information about how to fill out the ballot for each office, proposal or referendum on any such ballot; information on the political subdivisions applicable to a particular citizen’s address; and any other general information on voting deemed by the board to be necessary or useful to the electorate or otherwise consistent with the goals of this charter;
§ 3. Subdivision b of section 1053 of the New York city charter, as amended by local law number 170 for the year 2016, is amended to read as follows:
b. For all other elections in which there are contested elections held in the city of New York for any city, county, state, or federal office or ballot proposals or referenda pursuant to city, county, state, or federal law, [each] there shall be an online voter guide, which shall contain information that [the board deems necessary or useful to the electorate or is otherwise] is consistent with the board’s responsibility under this chapter to improve public awareness of candidates, ballot proposals, or referenda.
§ 4. This local law takes effect January 1, 2023, except that the campaign finance board shall take such measures as are necessary for the implementation of this local law, including the promulgation of any rules, before such date.NLB
LS #18045
12/9/2021