Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski announced today that he has introduced legislation aimed at protecting the right of voters to peacefully enter and exit a polling place (A.8712). Current NYS law prohibits electioneering within 100 feet of the entrance to a polling place. Zebrowski’s “Vote in Peace Act” would close a loophole by prohibiting electioneering on both the entire polling place property and within 100 feet of the polls. At many polling places, the parking lot is over 100 feet away from the polls, rendering the current law ineffective.

“There is something sacred about a citizen heading into the polls to vote. After a long campaign season voters should be able to park and walk into the voting booth without being bombarded or intimidated by throngs of volunteers,” said Zebrowski.

An egregious example of this threat occurred just last week in Virginia where early voting is underway. A polling place in Fairfax became the site of a political demonstration by President Trump supporters that were stationed right outside the entrance. This aggressive electioneering left many voters and staff feeling uncomfortable and intimidated as they were forced to walk past crowds from the parking lot to the entrance to vote. Virginia has a similar law to New York, prohibiting electioneering within 40 feet of the polling place entrance. But the reality is, many polling places are large facilities with large parking lots that render these prohibitions useless.

“The current law makes sense on a city block or a village main street where the entrance to a polling place leads to a public sidewalk. However, the current law provides little protection at many polling places where there are walkways and parking lots, “continued Assemblyman Zebrowski.

In addition to the incident in Virginia this week, the bill was drafted earlier this year based upon local incidents over the years. During some Rockland elections, voters can be seen pulling into parking lots while volunteers literally chase down their car. This leads to a chaotic and uncomfortable situation for voters. During most elections, local police and the Board of Elections try to respond to complaints from voters and are left marking out and trying to enforce a 100-foot buffer which seems arbitrary for the footprint of most polling places.

"It is vitally important for candidates to communicate with voters and get their message out. By the time a voter shows up at the polls, however, they shouldn’t have to deal with dueling volunteers shoving flyers into their hands. Bottom line: voters should be able to vote in peace,” concluded Zebrowski.