NYS Budget: Democracy and building trust in government

Requiring Automatic Manual Recounts in Close Elections

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — As part of the 2021 NYS budget, new legislation establishes statewide standards for when automatic ballot recounts happen and the process for how the recounts will be carried out.

The legislation requires an automatic manual recount in all statewide elections where the margin of victory for a candidate is 0.2 percent of all votes cast. It also requires an automatic manual recount in all other elections where the margin of victory for a candidate is 0.5 percent of all votes cast.

Counting Every New Yorker in the 2020 Census 

The 2021 NYS budget gives additional funding to make sure a fair and complete count of every New Yorker is successfully carried out in the 2020 census.

The funding builds on the statewide campaign to inform people about the Census, and encourages people to complete the questionnaire to reach hard-to-count communities.

Strengthening Disclosure Laws

Included in the 2021 NYS budget is a promised increase in political transparency. Gov. Cuomo introduced advanced ethics reform legislation to address the Citizens United . Federal Election Commission decision resulting in stronger campaign finance regulations.

Once passed by both the Senate and the Assembly, the Governor signed New York Executive Law § 172 which says the disclosure of political relationships and behaviors widely recognized to be influential but operate without exposure.

Gov. Cuomo’s legislation helps to strengthen this law by streamlining the reporting process for 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organizations.