N.Y. Village Law § 3-312 (2026)

§ 3-312 Filling of offices and vacancies by election or appointment.
1.  Elective offices shall be filled at the general village election
next preceding the expiration of the terms thereof.
  2. Appointive offices shall be filled at the annual meeting
immediately following the expiration of the terms thereof or, in the
case of newly established offices, at the time of the establishment
thereof.
  3. Vacancies in offices caused other than by expiration of the terms
thereof shall be filled by the mayor, except the office of mayor which
shall be filled by the board of trustees, to the extent and for the
periods of time set forth herein:
  a. In appointive offices for the balance of unexpired terms
  b. In elective offices as follows:
  (1) If such vacancy occurs at least seventy-five days prior to the
third Tuesday of the month preceding the end of the current official
year, for the balance of such year.
  (2) If such vacancy occurs less than seventy-five days prior to the
third Tuesday of the month preceding the end of the current official
year, for the balance of the year and, if the term of office does not
expire at the end of such year, by further appointment to the end of the
next official year.
  (3) Whenever a village, pursuant to section 15-104 of the election
law, has provided that village elections shall occur on the day of the
general election such vacancy shall be filled in accordance with
subdivision one of section forty-two of the public officers law.
  4. Elective offices, which have been filled by appointment for part of
the unexpired terms thereof shall further be filled for the remaining
part of such terms by election at the general village election, if any,
regularly scheduled to be held prior to the end of the period of such
appointment. In the event no general village election is scheduled, a
special village election shall be held on the third Tuesday of the month
preceding the end of the period of such appointment. Such special
elections shall be noticed, held and conducted in the same manner as a
general village election.
  5. A village trustee shall be eligible for appointment to fill a
vacancy in the office of mayor. If a trustee shall accept such
appointment, his office as trustee shall be vacant.
  6. The village clerk shall, within three days after the appointment of
a village officer, notify each person so appointed of his appointment
and the date thereof, and that, in order to qualify: he is required to
file his oath of office with such clerk together with proof by affidavit
of his eligibility to hold such office before entering upon the duties
thereof; and if an official undertaking be required by or in pursuance
of law, that he is also required to file the same with such clerk and
that upon his failure to do so, he will be deemed to have declined the
office. In the case of a person appointed to fill a vacancy in the
position of village justice or acting village justice, such notice shall
further state that the filing of his oath with the county clerk of the
county and with the chief administrator of the courts is also required.
If an undertaking is required of a village officer after entering upon
the duties of his office, the clerk of the village shall thereupon serve
upon such officer, personally, a written notice that he is required to
file such undertaking with the clerk within ten days after the service
of the notice and that upon his failure to do so his office will become
vacant.