Under the provisions of the New York Constitution of 1938, re-apportioned in 1943, 56 Senators and 150 assemblymen were elected in single-seat districts for two-year terms.

The approximate party strength at this election, as expressed by the vote for Governor, was: Republicans 2,826,000; Democrats 1,532,000; American Labor 429,000; Liberals 177,000; and Communists 90,000.

[1] All four women members of the previous legislature—State Senator Rhoda Fox Graves (Rep.), of Gouverneur; and Assemblywomen Mary A. Gillen (Dem.

Janet Hill Gordon (Rep.), a lawyer of Norwich; Elizabeth Hanniford (Rep.), a statistician of the Bronx; Mildred F. Taylor (Rep.), a coal dealer of Lyons; and Maude E. Ten Eyck (Rep.), of Manhattan; were also elected to the Assembly.

[2] The Legislature met for the first regular session (the 170th) at the State Capitol in Albany on January 8, 1947;[3] and adjourned on March 18.