As the deadline for an on-time state budget nears, good government groups hope Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders will fund early voting in the annual spending plan.
The state Legislature passed an election reform package in January that authorized early voting in New York. Cuomo signed the bill more than a week later.
The law establishes a nine-day early voting period ending on the Sunday before Election Day. Each county is required to have one early voting polling place for every 50,000 registered voters.
To implement early voting, counties say the state needs to provide funding. The state Assembly and Senate budget resolutions contained aid for early voting and other reforms. The state Assembly's one-house budget would give counties $34 million to assist with the adoption of election reforms and the purchase of electronic poll books and on-demand ballot printers — equipment needed for early voting's effectiveness.
The state Senate's budget plan included $10 million to help counties institute early voting.
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