Laws governing ballot measures in New York

Laws governing ballot measures in the U.S.

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Laws governing ballot measures in the U.S.

Changes to laws governing ballot measures

Types of ballot measures

Ballot measure policy topics

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This page provides an overview of resources addressing the laws and procedures that govern statewide and local ballot measures in New York, including constitutional amendments and campaign finance regulations.

Explore the links below for more information:

• Types of ballot measures in New York
• Amending the New York Constitution
• Laws governing local ballot measures in New York
• Laws governing recall in New York
• Laws governing state constitutional conventions in New York
• Campaign finance requirements for New York ballot measures
• Changes to laws governing ballot measures in New York

Laws governing ballot measures in New York

Types of ballot measures in New York

• In New York, citizens do not have the power to initiate ballot measures at the state level.

• In New York, the legislature can refer constitutional amendments, Legislatively referred bond measures, and advisory questions.

• The New York Constitution requires a constitutional convention question appear on ballots every 20 years starting in 1957.

Amending the New York Constitution

• New York became a state in 1788. The current state constitution was ratified in 1894.

• The New York Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution—legislatively referred constitutional amendments and a state constitutional convention. A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the New York State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. New York requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.

Laws governing local ballot measures in New York

• All of New York's 62 cities have the authority to initiate charter amendments under state law.

Laws governing recall in New York

• New York does not allow the recall of elected officials.

Laws governing state constitutional conventions in New York

• According to Section 2 of Article XIX of the New York Constitution, a question about whether to hold a state constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1957. New York is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question.

Campaign finance requirements for New York ballot measures

• In New York, any group that acts in support of or opposition to a ballot measure is considered a ballot measure committee (BMC). A BMC must file a two-part statement of organization certifying the name of the committee's treasurer and its bank account before the BMC may accept contributions or make expenditures.

Changes to laws governing ballot measures in New York

See also: Changes to laws governing ballot measures

2025

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

See also: Changes in 2025 to laws governing ballot measures

• Assembly Bill A3665A: (Vetoed) Reps. David Weprin (D-24), Jessica González-Rojas (D-34), Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-81), and Harvey Epstein (D-84) sponsored the legislation, which would have repealed limitations on when local charter amendments can be placed on the ballot. Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) vetoed the bill on December 5, 2025. The legislation would have allowed charter amendments from local legislative bodies, petitions, or other commissions to appear on the same ballot as a charter commission’s proposals; permitted legislative bodies to submit charter amendment questions at elections other than the general election while a charter commission exists; and would have allowed proposed local laws to appear on the same general-election ballot instead of being delayed to the following year.

AB A3665A Vote	Senate			House
	Yes	No	NV	Yes	No	NV
Total	35	24	4	89	56	5
Democratic (D)	33	5	3	88	11	5
Republican (R)	19	2	1	1	45	0

See also: Changes in 2024 to laws governing ballot measures

• Senate Bill 9763: The bill amended village law relating to village referendum election timing to comply with a state law passed in 2019 requiring petitions to be submitted to the village election board at least 3 months prior to an election.

SB 9763 Vote	Senate			House
	Yes	No	NV	Yes	No	NV
Total	61	0	1	140	0	10
Democratic (D)	41	0	0	94	0	9
Republican (R)	20	0	1	46	0	1

See also: Changes in 2023 to laws governing ballot measures

• New York Senate Bill 1381: SB 1381 required that state ballot measure questions be written in plain language and at no higher than an eighth-grade reading level. SB 1381 also required state ballot questions to meet the following requirements:

• Include a descriptive title that is no more than 15 words and describes the topic, goal, or outcome of the ballot measure;
• Include a summary that is no more than 30 words and describes the change in policy and not the legal mechanism;
• Include a statement of what 'Yes' and 'No' votes mean in no more than 30 words that describe the outcome of each result;
• Require the New York Board of Elections to publish the proposed ballot questions at least four months before the election and allow for public comment;
• Require the Board of Elections to publish the automated readability index score on the board's website; and
• Define plain language as easily comprehended, concise language that does not contain more than one passive sentence, semicolons, or double negatives.

SB 1381 Vote	Senate			House
	Yes	No	NV	Yes	No	NV
Total	61	0	2	145	0	5
Democratic (D)	40	0	2	99	0	4
Republican (R)	20	0	0	46	0	1

See also: Changes in 2022 to laws governing ballot measures

• Assembly Bill 4158: The bill prohibited private individuals or entities from paying for the administrative costs associated with conducting a referendum election.

See also: Changes in 2021 to laws governing ballot measures

The New York State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2021.

See also: Changes in 2020 to laws governing ballot measures

• Senate Bill 8763 / Assembly Bill 10783: The legislation modified timelines for referendum submissions to allow towns to hold a referendum election at a biennial election or a special town election.

See also: Changes in 2019 to laws governing ballot measures

The New York State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2019.

See also: Changes in 2018 to laws governing ballot measures

The New York State Legislature did not pass legislation concerning ballot measures in 2018.

See also

Ballot Measures

Ballotpedia

Measures

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Topics

• • State ballot measure topics
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Law

• • Laws governing ballot measures
• • Changes to laws governing ballot measures
• • Types of ballot measures
• • Ballot measure policy topics

History

• • Historical Ballot Measures (HBM) Factbooks
• • History of ballot measures by topic

Campaigns

• • Campaign finance
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Footnotes

Laws governing ballot measures in the United States

Laws governing ballot measures

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Changes to laws governing ballot measures

Types of ballot measures

Citizen-initiated ballot measures • Legislatively referred ballot measures • Automatically referred ballot measures • Commission-referred ballot measures • Convention-referred constitutional amendments

Ballot measure policy terms

Glossary of ballot measure policy terms

State ballot measures

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