Bill Text: NY A10271 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Authorizes absentee voting; defines the term "illness" for the purposes of absentee voting to include instances where a voter who, during a declaration of a state disaster emergency related to an epidemic or disease outbreak declared by the Governor pursuant to section twenty-eight of the executive law, is unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election district in which they are a qualified voter because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease causing illness to the voter or to other members of the public.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-05-24 - print number 10271a [A10271 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10271-Amended.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                        10271--A

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      April 8, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BLAKE, PAULIN -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Election  Law  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,
          ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to absentee voting

          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 8-400  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter 63 of the laws of 2010, paragraph (c) as amended by
     3  chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, is amended to read as follows:
     4    1. A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  chapter
     5  if,  on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
     6  elections, primary election, special election, general election  or  New
     7  York  city  community  school  board  district or city of Buffalo school
     8  district election, he or she expects to be:
     9    (a) absent from the county of his or her residence, or, if a  resident
    10  of the city of New York absent from said city; or
    11    (b)  unable  to appear personally at the polling place of the election
    12  district in which he or she is a qualified voter because of  illness  or
    13  physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
    14  individuals  who  are  ill  or physically disabled, or because he or she
    15  will be or is a patient in a hospital, provided that,  for  purposes  of
    16  this    paragraph,  "illness" shall include instances where a voter who,
    17  during a declaration of a state disaster emergency related to an epidem-
    18  ic or disease outbreak declared by  the  governor  pursuant  to  section
    19  twenty-eight of the executive law, is unable to appear personally at the
    20  polling  place  of  the  election district in which they are a qualified
    21  voter because there is a risk of  contracting  or  spreading  a  disease
    22  causing illness to the voter or to other members of the public; or
    23    (c)  a  resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
    24  tal; or
    25    (d) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
    26  detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
    27  confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
    28  a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
    29  district of his or her residence.
    30    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15746-08-0
feedback