Bill Text: NY A09128 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the timing of the annual check of registrants.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Passed) 2020-02-11 - SIGNED CHAP.21 [A09128 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A09128-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9128

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 22, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Election Law

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the timing of the annu-
          al  check  of  registrants;  and  providing  for  the  repeal  of such
          provisions upon expiration thereof

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  1  of  section 4-117 of the election law, as
     2  separately amended by chapters 3 and 5 of the laws of 2019,  is  amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    1. The board of elections, not less than [sixty-five] eighty-five days
     5  nor  more than [seventy] ninety days before the primary election in each
     6  year, shall send by mail on which is endorsed such  language  designated
     7  by  the  state  board  of  elections to ensure postal authorities do not
     8  forward such mail but return it to the board of elections with  forward-
     9  ing  information,  when  it  cannot  be delivered as addressed and which
    10  contains a request that any such mail received for persons not  residing
    11  at  the  address be dropped back in the mail, a communication, in a form
    12  approved by the state board of elections, to every registered voter  who
    13  has  been  registered without a change of address since the beginning of
    14  such year, except that the board of elections shall not be  required  to
    15  send such communications to voters in inactive status. The communication
    16  shall  notify the voter of the days and hours of the ensuing primary and
    17  general elections, the place where he or  she  appears  by  his  or  her
    18  registration  records  to  be entitled to vote, the fact that voters who
    19  have moved or will have moved from the  address  where  they  were  last
    20  registered  must  either notify the board of elections of his or her new
    21  address or vote by paper ballot at the polling place for his or her  new
    22  address  even if such voter has not re-registered, or otherwise notified
    23  the board of elections of the change of address. If the primary will not
    24  be held on the first Tuesday after the second Monday in  September,  the
    25  communication  shall contain a conspicuous notice in all capital letters
    26  and bold font notifying the voter of the primary date. If  the  location
    27  of  the  polling place for the voter's election district has been moved,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD14760-01-0
        A. 9128                             2

     1  the communication shall contain the following legend in bold type: "YOUR
     2  POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The communi-
     3  cation shall also indicate whether the polling place  is  accessible  to
     4  physically  disabled voters, that a voter who will be out of the city or
     5  county on the day of the primary or general election or a voter  who  is
     6  ill  or  physically disabled may obtain an absentee ballot, that a phys-
     7  ically disabled voter whose polling place is not accessible may  request
     8  that  his registration record be moved to an election district which has
     9  a polling place which is accessible, the phone number to call for appli-
    10  cations to move a registration record or for  absentee  ballot  applica-
    11  tions,  the  phone  number  to call for the location of registration and
    12  polling places, the phone number to call to indicate that the  voter  is
    13  willing  to  serve on election day as an election inspector, poll clerk,
    14  interpreter or in other capacities, the phone number to call  to  obtain
    15  an  application  for  registration  by  mail, and such other information
    16  concerning the elections or registration as the board  may  include.  In
    17  lieu  of sending such communication to every registered voter, the board
    18  of elections may send a single communication to a  household  containing
    19  more  than  one  registered  voter,  provided that the names of all such
    20  voters appear as part of the address on such communication.
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  expire  and  be
    22  deemed repealed December 31, 2020.