State Board of Elections Releases 2013 Legislative Proposals

The State Board of Elections has posted its Election Law proposals for 2013. The Board notes that its list does not include “any legislative proposals that may be needed as a result of moving the primary date.”

For 2013, SBOE proposes:

– Prohibiting candidates from serving as poll watchers in districts in which they are running for office;
– Permitting the delivery of papers under the Election Law by services other than the U.S. Postal Service;
– Exempting election inspectors, poll clerks and election coordinators from jury duty;
– Repealing the requirement that certified election results be printed in legal ads;
– Establishing a 13th Judicial District, which would cover Staten Island (Richmond County);
– Enhancing “ballot usability” by eliminating party emblems and standardizing font requirements, among other changes;
– Changing the retention period for computerized poll book so that it is synchronized with the two-year retention period for other election-related documents;
– Prohibiting the use of labels and stickers on optical-scan ballots; and
– Eliminating the use of party emblems on ballots.

As of this writing, none of these proposals have been introduced.