Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele, Jr. (I, D, WF, WE - Sag Harbor) announced that he helped pass several pieces of legislation to close the limited liability corporation (LLC) loophole in the state’s campaign finance law and modernize the election process to make voting easier and more accessible.

“Our government is supposed to be for the people and by the people, but that doesn’t hold true if wealthy special interests are controlling our elections and not every New Yorker is given an equal chance to make their voice heard,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “It’s the 21st century, and there’s absolutely no reason why our electoral process shouldn’t reflect that. We should be making it as easy to vote as possible.”

Under current election law, individuals and corporations can make unlimited contributions to the same candidate, political party or campaign committee by creating multiple LLCs. Each LLC is treated as an individual donor, even if multiple LLCs are owned by the same person or entity, which makes it harder to determine the real contributor and allows them to evade campaign contribution limits.

The Assembly’s measure would extend the $5,000 aggregate contribution limit, already applicable to corporations, to include LLCs, and require LLCs to disclose the names of individuals with membership interests, attributing LLC contributions to them in proportion to such membership interest (A.9758-A). By closing the LLC loophole, we can increase transparency, help level the playing field and prevent the wealthy few from making nearly unlimited campaign contributions, noted Assemblyman Thiele.

Another bill passed by the Assembly establishes early voting in New York State, which would take place during a seven-day period before any general, primary or special election (A.9608-B). During the early voting period, polling locations would be required to be open for eight hours on weekdays and five hours on weekends and holidays, and to offer evening hours on at least two days. County boards of elections would have the option of providing additional early voting hours and would be required to publicize to voters the location, dates and hours of all early voting polling places within each county. The state has committed $7 million to help local governments cover the costs of implementing early voting.

New York is currently one of only 13 states that don’t have early voting.1 We must do everything we can to make this sacred right as easy and accessible as possible, noted Assemblyman Thiele.

Further, the legislative package includes the Voter Enfranchisement Modernization Act of 2018, which establishes online voter registration in New York State (A.5382-A). This will streamline the registration process and bring the state’s paper-based application process into the 21st century.

To increase access to mail-in ballots at home, the legislative package includes a bill that would amend the New York State Constitution to allow any citizen to receive an absentee ballot upon request (A.7623). Under current law, residents can only receive absentee ballots if they expect to be absent from the county on the day of the election, or if they have an illness or physical disability. The amendment must be passed by both the Assembly and Senate in consecutive terms before it goes before voters as a ballot referendum.

“Making the voting process as simple as possible is an integral part of building a stronger New York State,” said Assemblyman Thiele. “New Yorkers’ votes determine the direction our state will head in, the issues that will be debated and the progress that will be made in our communities.”

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1. ncsl.org/research/elections-and-campaigns/absentee-and-early-voting.aspx