Bill Text: NY A04505 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot and to elect to permanently vote by absentee ballot.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to election law [A04505 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04505-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4505
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 4, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  M. of A. WEPRIN, GOTTFRIED, SEAWRIGHT -- Multi-Sponsored
          by -- M. of A.  SIMON -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on
          Election Law
        AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to authorizing any regis-
          tered voter to vote by absentee ballot
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 8-400 of the election
     2  law,  subdivisions  1,  3  and 4 as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of
     3  2010, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph
     4  (c) of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2015,  the
     5  opening paragraph of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 216 of the laws
     6  of 1988, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 263 of the
     7  laws  of  1991, paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 321
     8  of the laws of 1988, and paragraph (d) of subdivision  2  as  separately
     9  amended  by chapters 97 and 104 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read
    10  as follows:
    11    1. [A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this chapter
    12  if, on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board  of
    13  elections,  primary  election, special election, general election or New
    14  York city community school board district  or  city  of  Buffalo  school
    15  district election, he or she expects to be:
    16    (a)  absent from the county of his or her residence, or, if a resident
    17  of the city of New York absent from said city; or
    18    (b) unable to appear personally at the polling place of  the  election
    19  district  in  which he or she is a qualified voter because of illness or
    20  physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
    21  individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or  because  he  or  she
    22  will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
    23    (c)  a  resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
    24  tal; or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08582-01-9
        A. 4505                             2

     1    (d) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
     2  detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
     3  confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
     4  a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
     5  district  of  his or her residence.] (a) Any person who is registered to
     6  vote may vote by absentee ballot.
     7    (b) A registered voter may not vote in person if the  voter  filed  an
     8  application to vote by absentee ballot.
     9    2.  A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an absentee
    10  voter for any reason specified  in  subdivision  one  hereof  must  make
    11  application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
    12  provided herein or by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdi-
    13  vision.
    14    (a)  Application  forms shall be furnished by and may be obtained from
    15  any board of elections at any time until the day before  such  election.
    16  Application  forms  shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of
    17  the election district in which applicant is a qualified voter on all  of
    18  the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms
    19  shall  be  supplied  upon  the  request of the person authorized to vote
    20  pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or  child,  a
    21  person  residing with the applicant as a member of his household, or the
    22  applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the
    23  United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico,  shall  be  sent
    24  airmail.  Any  reference  to  "board  of  elections"  in  the  remaining
    25  provisions of this section, except with respect to  the  furnishing  and
    26  obtaining  of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board of
    27  elections of the county or city in which the applicant  is  a  qualified
    28  voter.
    29    (b) Applications may be filed either with the board of elections or in
    30  person  with  the  board of inspectors of the election district in which
    31  the applicant is a qualified voter, on one  of  the  days  provided  for
    32  local registration.
    33    (c)  All  applications  must  be  mailed to the board of elections not
    34  later than the seventh day before the election for  which  a  ballot  is
    35  first  requested  or  delivered  to  such  board  not later than the day
    36  [before] of such election.
    37    (d) The board of elections shall mail  an  absentee  ballot  to  every
    38  qualified  voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
    39  an absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a  letter,
    40  telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from
    41  which  the  writing is sent or other written instrument, which is signed
    42  by the voter and received by the board of elections not earlier than the
    43  thirtieth day nor later than the seventh day  before  the  election  for
    44  which  the  ballot is first requested and which states the address where
    45  the voter is registered and the address to which the  ballot  is  to  be
    46  mailed;  provided,  however,  a  military  voter  may request a military
    47  ballot or voter registration application or an absentee ballot  applica-
    48  tion  in  a letter as provided in subdivision three of section 10-106 of
    49  this chapter; and provided further, a special federal voter may  request
    50  a  special federal ballot or voter registration application or an absen-
    51  tee ballot application in a letter as provided in paragraph d of  subdi-
    52  vision  one  of  section  11-202 of this chapter. The board of elections
    53  shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for absentee ballot
    54  if the applicant is registered with such board of elections.
    55    3. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must  contain  in
    56  each instance the following information:
        A. 4505                             3
     1    (a)  Applicant's  full  name,  date  of  birth, and residence address,
     2  including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route,  if  any,
     3  mailing  address  if different from the residence address and his or her
     4  town or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
     5    (b)  A  statement  that  the  applicant  is a qualified and registered
     6  voter.
     7    (c) [A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the
     8  applicant expects in good faith to be in one of  the  following  catego-
     9  ries:
    10    (i)  absent  from the county of his or her residence, or if a resident
    11  of the city of New York absent from said city; provided, however, if the
    12  applicant expects to be absent from such county or city for  a  duration
    13  covering  more  than  one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each
    14  election, he or she shall state the dates when  he  or  she  expects  to
    15  begin and end such absence; or
    16    (ii)  unable  to appear at a polling place because of illness or phys-
    17  ical disability or duties related to the primary care  of  one  or  more
    18  individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or
    19    (iii) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
    20  tal; or
    21    (iv)  detained  in  jail  awaiting  action by a grand jury or awaiting
    22  trial or confined in jail or prison after a conviction  for  an  offense
    23  other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
    24  or confined.
    25    (d)]  Such  application  shall  permit  the  applicant to apply for an
    26  absentee ballot for either a primary election or the general election in
    27  any year and for those persons who  will  be  continuously  absent  from
    28  their  county  of  residence  during the period between the fall primary
    29  election and the general election in any year to apply for  ballots  for
    30  both  such  elections  in such year. A voter who applies for an absentee
    31  ballot shall be sent an absentee ballot  for  any  special  election  or
    32  winter primary that occurs during the period of absence specified in the
    33  application.
    34    4.  [A  voter who claims permanent illness or physical disability] Any
    35  voter may make application for an  absentee  ballot  and  the  right  to
    36  receive  an  absentee  ballot  for  each election thereafter as provided
    37  herein without  further  application[,  by  filing  with  the  board  of
    38  elections  an application which shall contain a statement to be executed
    39  by the voter]. Upon filing of such application the  board  of  elections
    40  shall  cause the registration records of the voter to be marked ["Perma-
    41  nently Disabled"] "permanent absentee"  and  thereafter  shall  send  an
    42  absentee ballot for each succeeding primary, special or general election
    43  to  such voter at his or her last known address by first class mail with
    44  a request to the postal authorities not to forward such  ballot  but  to
    45  return  it  in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the
    46  addressee. The mailing of such ballot for each election  shall  continue
    47  until such voter's registration is cancelled.
    48    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.