Board of Elections says new legislative maps will be implemented Jan. 1, 2026; polling places mostly unchanged

Chemung County Board of Elections officials told the Legislature their office is on track to implement legislative district lines approved in November 2022, with the new lines taking effect Jan. 1, 2026.

Commissioner Mary Collins and board staff said the vendor NTS — which handles voter‑registration databases for many New York counties — has been engaged to produce the implementation files. Because the new lines will not take effect for this fall’s election, the Board said it will finalize data after the November election is certified and expects to have updated voter databases and precinct assignments ready by mid‑December for use starting Jan. 1, 2026.

Polling places: Officials said that, in general, polling locations will remain the same; the change is to election‑district lines rather than polling‑site assignments. They noted state guidance can require wholly contained election districts for villages below certain population thresholds, and that could create one or two additional election districts in small villages (the presenters cited Millport and Wellsburg as examples). Any change in the number of election districts would not necessarily change the physical polling sites, the board said.

Process and timing: The board said NTS provided an initial fee estimate (about $8,600) for data services. Work began in May, a stop‑work order occurred in July while contractual details were clarified, and board staff said the project is again moving forward with the county executive’s office. Commissioners emphasized the new lines will be used for candidate filing and elections in 2026 and that incumbents will serve current lines through Dec. 31, 2026.

Ending: Board officials offered to provide the Legislature with updated materials once the election certification is complete this fall and the mapping files are finalized for December deployment.