The Recodified New York Election Law: A Small Step in the Right Direction

During the 1976 national and local election campaigns, the New York State Election Law and its "Byzantine" procedures came under withering attack by both the candidates and the press. The inadequacies of the existing law had long been recognized and decried by numerous citizens groups and legislators. The first step toward much-needed substantive election law reform has been taken recently with the passage of an Election Law Recodification Act. The new law, passed under the sponsorship of Assemblyman Melvin H. Miller, Chairman of the Election Law Committee, went into effect on December 1, 1977.

The Election Law Recodification is characterized as a "simplification and clarification of present law" which "should not generate controversy among the members of the legislature..." Nonetheless, the recodification has effected changes which are of importance to most citizens. This Article will examine these changes and describe their effect upon voting, registration and party enrollment, designation and nomination of candidates, the conduct of elections and judicial review procedures.