Laws governing local ballot measures in New York
Indirect process: The charter amendment process is indirect. This means that the local legislative body has a chance to act on the proposed measure before it goes on the ballot. In New York, the city legislative body may not reject the proposal, but if the body fails to approve it, proponents must gather additional signature to place the proposal on the ballot. The city’s legislative body may also adopt proposed charter amendments--even those that fail to garner sufficient signatures. Depending on their subject matter, measures approved by the legislative body may still require a referendum vote.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (6-7)
Petition form: The petition may consist of separate petition sheets fastened together. Each petition sheet must be signed and verified according to the relevant guidelines for nominating petitions. The petition must contain the proposed law in full. New provisions should be set in italics or underlined. Deleted provisions should be bracketed or struck through.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 3, § 24 (1)(a) & Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (2, 3, 5 & 8)
Signature requirements: The petition must contain signatures equal to 10% of the last vote for the office of governor or 30,000 signatures (whichever is less). Only those registered to vote as of the last general election may sign the petition. If the city legislative body fails to approve the measure, proponents must gather additional signatures equal to 5% of the last vote for the office of governor or 15,000 signatures (whichever is less).
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (2 & 7)
Circulation period: No time constraints were found on the first round of initiative petitions. If a second round is required, however, it must be filed between two and four months after the first.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (7)
Circulator restrictions: No restrictions on circulators were identified.
Notary requirement: No notary requirement was identified.
Submitting signatures: Both rounds of petitions are filed with and verified by the city clerk.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 3, § 24 (1)(a) & Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (2, 5 & 7)
Election procedure: If a second round of signatures is successfully filed and verified, an election on the proposed amendment will appear on the ballot at the next general election at least sixty days after filing.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (7)
Majority required: Charter amendments only require a simple majority for passage.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (13)
Conflicting measures: If two or more conflicting measure are approved, the measure with the most affirmative votes will prevail on all points of conflict.
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (13)
Funding Source Requirement: Any charter amendment that requires the expenditure of city funds must specify a funding source. No expenditure required by an approved charter amendment may take effect before the start of the next fiscal year. (Unlike amendments, government reorganizations may rely on normal budgetary processes for funding as long as they do not dictate specific salaries or expenditures.)
New York Consolidated Laws, Municipal Home Rule, Article 4, Part 2, § 37 (11) & (12)