New York Assembly Bill A01355

New York 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/9/25
• Refer: 1/9/25
• Refer: 1/7/26

Caption

Relates to the procedure for filling a vacancy in the office of state senator or in the office of member of assembly occurring in a district consisting of parts of more than one county in a city with a population of one million or more; allows for independent nominating petitions to be presented and provides for a special election to be held forty-five days from the date of the governor making a proclamation for a special election.

Summary

This bill changes how certain legislative vacancies are filled in New York City. For vacancies in the office of state senator or member of assembly that occur in a district spanning parts of more than one county in a city with a population of one million or more, the bill replaces the usual party-nomination process with a special nonpartisan election. The governor would be required to proclaim the special election within three days of the vacancy, and the election would be held 45 days later. The bill requires candidates to qualify by independent nominating petition rather than party committee nomination. It sets petition signature thresholds at the lesser of 5% of the votes cast in the last gubernatorial election or fixed minimums of 1,500 signatures for state senate and 750 for assembly. Petitions must be filed within 15 days after the governor’s proclamation, and the winner would take office immediately upon qualification and serve the remainder of the unexpired term.

Impact

The bill would amend Election Law section 6-116 to create a special vacancy-filling procedure that applies only in a city of one million or more, which in practice targets New York City. It would carve out an exception from the general party committee nomination process for certain multi-county senate and assembly districts, substituting a rapid special election based on independent nominating petitions. This would affect the timing, nomination method, and ballot access rules for vacancy elections, and would shift control away from party committees toward voters and petitioning candidates.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and caption, the measure appears to be framed as a reform to make vacancy filling more direct and elector-driven, with no recorded committee debate or votes available in the provided materials. The structure of the bill suggests a procedural and administrative focus rather than a broad policy dispute. Because there is no transcript or voting history here, there is no documented formal support or opposition in the supplied record.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the replacement of party committee nominations with a special nonpartisan election using independent nominating petitions. Supporters would likely favor broader voter participation and faster, more direct filling of vacancies, while opponents may argue that the shortened timeline and petition requirements could be burdensome, costly, or disruptive. Another potential issue is that the bill applies only to districts in a city of one million or more and only where the district spans more than one county, which could raise questions about unequal treatment or targeted application to New York City districts.