Bill Text: NY S01364 | 2009-2010 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Extends the right to vote in all elections to aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-01-06 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S01364 Detail]
Download: New_York-2009-S01364-Introduced.html
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K ________________________________________________________________________ 1364 2009-2010 Regular Sessions I N S E N A T E January 29, 2009 ___________ Introduced by Sens. DILAN, ADAMS, DIAZ, HUNTLEY, PARKER, SAMPSON -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections AN ACT to amend the election law, the town law and the education law, in relation to the right to vote THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM- BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: 1 Section 1. The legislature hereby finds and declares that the right to 2 vote is an essential part of membership in the communities which make up 3 the state of New York. In order to ensure that all persons who perma- 4 nently and legally reside in our state have a voice and a stake in the 5 decisions made by the political process, it is necessary and proper to 6 extend the right to them, as citizens of New York state, to vote in 7 elections for offices and on issues which affect them. 8 S 2. Subdivision 1 of section 5-102 of the election law is amended to 9 read as follows: 10 1. No person shall be qualified to register for and vote at any 11 election unless he OR SHE is a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN 12 LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES and is or 13 will be, on the day of such election, eighteen years of age or over, and 14 a resident of this state and of the county, city or village for a mini- 15 mum of thirty days next preceding such election. 16 S 3. Paragraph (g) of subdivision 5 of section 5-210 of the election 17 law, as amended by chapter 179 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read 18 as follows: 19 (g) Notice that the applicant must be a citizen of the United States 20 OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED 21 STATES, is or will be at least eighteen years old not later than Decem- 22 ber thirty-first of the calendar year in which he or she registers and a 23 resident of the county or city to which application is made. EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05015-01-9 S. 1364 2 1 S 4. Subdivision 8 of section 7-122 of the election law, as amended by 2 chapter 235 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 3 8. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 4 statement: 5 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 6 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN 7 LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES, that I 8 am duly registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of 9 this envelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I will 10 be unable to appear personally on the day of the election for which this 11 ballot is voted at the polling place of the election district in which I 12 am a qualified voter because of the reason given on my application here- 13 tofore submitted; that I have not qualified nor do I intend to vote 14 elsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I under any imped- 15 iment which denies me the right to vote. 16 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 17 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 18 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 19 guilty of a misdemeanor. 20 Date.................20..... ..................................... 21 Signature or mark of voter 22 ..................................... 23 Signature of Witness (required only 24 if voter does not sign his own name) 25 ..................................... 26 Address of Witness 27 S 5. Subdivision 3 of section 7-123 of the election law, as amended by 28 chapter 235 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 29 3. Each ballot shall be furnished with a ballot envelope upon which 30 shall be printed: 31 BALLOT FOR MILITARY VOTER 32 STATEMENT 33 I do state (or affirm) that I am (MUST CHECK ONE) 34 (a) in the actual military service of the State of New 35 York, or of the United States.................................... [] 36 (b) the spouse...................................................... [] 37 (c) parent.......................................................... [] 38 (d) child........................................................... [] 39 of a voter in the actual military service of the State of New York or of 40 the United States, accompanying or being with such voter and a resident 41 of the same election district; that I am a citizen of the United States 42 OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED 43 STATES; that on the date of the election for which this ballot is voted 44 I will be at least eighteen years of age and immediately preceding said 45 date will have been a resident of the county, city or village in which I S. 1364 3 1 offer my vote for thirty days, that I have not voted any other ballot 2 for any candidate from any address other than hereinafter set forth; and 3 that I have not committed any act, nor am I under any impediment which 4 denies me the right to vote. 5 My voting residence in the State of New York is: 6 Street and Number, or R.F.D.............................................. 7 City, Village or Town.................................................... 8 County................................................................... 9 I hereby declare, that the foregoing is a true statement to the best 10 of my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 11 false statement in the foregoing statement of military voter, I shall be 12 guilty of a misdemeanor. 13 Date..........20...... 14 ............................... 15 Signature or mark of voter 16 ............................... 17 Signature of Witness (required 18 only if voter does not sign his 19 own name) 20 ............................... 21 Address of Witness 22 S 6. Subdivision 3 of section 7-125 of the election law, as amended by 23 chapter 235 of the laws of 2000, is amended to read as follows: 24 3. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow- 25 ing statement: 26 STATEMENT OF SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTER 27 I do declare I am a qualified special presidential voter of said 28 district; that I am not qualified and am not able to qualify to vote 29 elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I 30 am a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR 31 PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES; that on the date of the 32 election for which this ballot is voted, I will be at least eighteen 33 years of age; and that I have not committed any act, nor am I under any 34 impediment, which denies me the right to vote. 35 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 36 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 37 false statement in the foregoing statement, I shall be guilty of a 38 misdemeanor. 39 Date..........20...... 40 ............................... 41 Signature or mark of Voter 42 ............................... 43 Signature of Witness (required 44 only if voter does not sign his 45 own name) 46 ............................... 47 Address of Witness 48 S 7. Subdivision 3 of section 8-504 of the election law, as renumbered 49 by chapter 373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as follows: S. 1364 4 1 3. After receiving the answers as above specified, of any applicant, 2 the board shall, if it believes the applicant to be qualified or the 3 challenge is withdrawn, permit him OR HER to vote. Otherwise, the board 4 shall point out to him OR HER the qualifications, if any, in respect of 5 which he OR SHE shall appear deficient. If, after such deficiencies 6 have been so indicated, the applicant shall persist in his OR HER claim 7 to vote, an inspector shall administer to him OR HER the following oath, 8 which shall be known as "The Qualification Oath": "You do swear (or 9 affirm) that you are eighteen years of age, that you are a citizen of 10 the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE 11 IN THE UNITED STATES and that you have been a resident of this state, 12 and of this county (of the city of New York) (village) for thirty days 13 next preceding this election, that you still reside at the same address 14 from which you have been duly registered in this election district, that 15 you have not voted at this election, and that you do not know of any 16 reason why you are not qualified to vote at this election. You do 17 further declare that you are aware that it is a crime to make any false 18 statement. That all the statements you have made to the board have been 19 true and that you understand that a false statement is perjury and you 20 will be guilty of a misdemeanor." 21 S 8. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 84-a of the town law, as 22 amended by chapter 281 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as 23 follows: 24 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow- 25 ing statement: 26 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 27 I do declare that I will have been a citizen of the United States OR 28 AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES 29 for thirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date 30 of the special town election; that I will have been a resident of this 31 state and of the town shown on the reverse side of this envelope for 32 thirty days next preceding the said election; that I am or on such date 33 will be, a registered voter of said town; that I will be unable to 34 appear personally on the day of said special town election at the poll- 35 ing place of the election district in which I am or will be a qualified 36 voter because of the reason stated on my application heretofore submit- 37 ted; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than 38 as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not 39 received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or 40 promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to 41 another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a 42 compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this 43 special town election, and have not made any promise to influence the 44 giving or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become 45 directly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the 46 result of this special town election; and that I have not been convicted 47 of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been 48 pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction 49 as to the right of suffrage, or received a certificate of good conduct 50 granted by the board of parole pursuant to the provisions of the execu- 51 tive law removing my disability to register and vote. 52 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 53 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 54 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 55 guilty of a misdemeanor. 56 Date.............. Signature of Voter.................. S. 1364 5 1 S 9. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 213-b of the town law, as 2 added by chapter 400 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows: 3 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 4 tion setting forth (1) his OR HER name and residence address, including 5 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 6 (2) that he OR SHE is or will be, on the day of the election, a quali- 7 fied voter of the district in which OR SHE he resides in that he OR SHE 8 is or will be, on such date, over eighteen years of age, a citizen of 9 the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE 10 IN THE UNITED STATES and has or will have resided in the district for 11 thirty days next preceding such date; (3) that he OR SHE is registered 12 in the town; (4) that he OR SHE will be unable to appear to vote in 13 person on the day of the election for which the absentee ballot is 14 requested because he OR SHE is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in 15 a hospital, or unable to appear personally at the polling place on such 16 day because of illness or physical disability or (b) because his OR HER 17 duties, occupation or business will require him OR HER to be outside of 18 the county or city of his OR HER residence on such day, (c) because he 19 OR SHE will be on vacation outside the county or city of his OR HER 20 residence on such day; or, (d) absent from his OR HER voting residence 21 because he OR SHE is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or 22 awaiting trial or is confined in prison after conviction for an offense 23 other than a felony. Such application must be received by the district 24 secretary at least seven days before the election if the ballot is to be 25 mailed to the voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to 26 be delivered personally to the voter or his OR HER agent. 27 S 10. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 213-b of the town law, 28 as added by chapter 400 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as 29 follows: 30 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow- 31 ing statement: 32 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 33 I do declare that I will have been a citizen of the United States OR 34 AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES 35 for thirty days, and will be at least eighteen years of age, on the date 36 of the district election; that I will have been a resident of this state 37 and of the district if any, shown on the reverse side of this envelope 38 for thirty days next preceding the said election and that I am or on 39 such date will be, a registered voter of said district; that I will be 40 unable to appear personally on the day of said district election at the 41 polling place of the said district in which I am or will be a qualified 42 voter because of the reason stated on my application heretofore submit- 43 ted; that I have not qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than 44 as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I have not 45 received or offered, do not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or 46 promised to pay, contributed, offered or promised to contribute to 47 another to be paid or used, any money or other valuable thing, as a 48 compensation or reward for the giving or withholding of a vote at this 49 district election, and have not made any promise to influence the giving 50 or withholding of any such votes; that I have not made or become direct- 51 ly or indirectly interested in any bet or wager depending upon the 52 result of this district election; and that I have not been convicted of 53 bribery or any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been 54 pardoned or restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction 55 as to the right of suffrage, or received a certificate of good conduct S. 1364 6 1 granted by the board of parole pursuant to the provisions of the execu- 2 tive law removing my disability to register and vote. 3 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 4 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 5 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 6 guilty of a misdemeanor. 7 Date..............Signature of Voter.................. 8 S 11. Subdivision 1 of section 2012 of the education law, as amended 9 by chapter 1169 of the laws of 1971, is amended to read as follows: 10 1. A citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR 11 PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. 12 S 12. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 2018-a of the education 13 law, as amended by chapter 136 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read 14 as follows: 15 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 16 tion setting forth (1) his OR HER name and residence address, including 17 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 18 (2) that he OR SHE is or will be, on the day of the school district 19 election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he OR SHE 20 resides in that he OR SHE is or will be, on such date, over eighteen 21 years of age, a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMIT- 22 TED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES and has or will have 23 resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such date; (3) 24 whether he OR SHE is registered in the district; (4) that he OR SHE will 25 be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of the school district 26 election for which the absentee ballot is requested because he OR SHE 27 is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in a hospital, or unable to 28 appear personally at the polling place on such day because of illness or 29 physical disability or (b) because his OR HER duties, occupation, busi- 30 ness, or studies will require him OR HER to be outside of the county or 31 city of his OR HER residence on such day, (c) because he OR SHE will be 32 on vacation outside the county or city of his OR HER residence on such 33 day; or, (d) absent from his OR HER voting residence because he OR SHE 34 is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial or 35 is confined in prison after conviction for an offense other than a felo- 36 ny. Such application must be received by the district clerk at least 37 seven days before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the 38 voter, or the day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered 39 personally to the voter. 40 S 13. Paragraph b of subdivision 5 of section 2018-a of the education 41 law, as amended by chapter 506 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read 42 as follows: 43 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 44 statement: 45 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER 46 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN 47 LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES, and will 48 be at least eighteen years of age, on the date of the school district 49 election; that I will have been a resident of this state and of the 50 school district and school election district, if any, shown on the 51 reverse side of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said 52 election and duly registered in the school district and school election 53 district, if any, shown on the reverse side of this envelope and that I 54 am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of said school district; 55 that I will be unable to appear personally on the day of said school 56 district election at the polling place of the said district in which I S. 1364 7 1 am or will be a qualified voter because of the reason stated on my 2 application heretofore submitted; that I have not qualified, or do I 3 intend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this 4 envelope; that I have not received or offered, do not expect to receive, 5 have not paid, offered or promised to pay, contributed, offered or prom- 6 ised to contribute to another to be paid or used, any money or other 7 valuable thing, as a compensation or reward for the giving or withhold- 8 ing of a vote at this school district election, and have not made any 9 promise to influence the giving or withholding of any such votes; that I 10 have not made or become directly or indirectly interested in any bet or 11 wager depending upon the result of this school district election; and 12 that I have not been convicted of bribery or any infamous crime, or, if 13 so convicted, that I have been pardoned or restored to all the rights of 14 a citizen, without restriction as to the right of suffrage, or received 15 a certificate of good conduct granted by the board of parole pursuant to 16 the provisions of the executive law removing my disability to register 17 and vote. 18 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 19 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 20 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 21 guilty of a misdemeanor. 22 Date..............Signature of Voter.................. 23 S 14. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 2018-b of the education 24 law, as amended by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 25 follows: 26 a. An applicant for such an absentee ballot shall submit an applica- 27 tion setting forth (1) his OR HER name and residence address, including 28 the street and number, if any, or town and rural delivery route, if any; 29 (2) that he OR SHE is or will be, on the day of the school district 30 election, a qualified voter of the school district in which he OR SHE 31 resides in that he OR SHE is or will be, on such date, over eighteen 32 years of age, a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMIT- 33 TED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES and has or will have 34 resided in the district for thirty days next preceding such date; (3) 35 that he OR SHE will be unable to appear to vote in person on the day of 36 the school district election for which the absentee ballot is requested 37 because he OR SHE is, or will be on such day (a) a patient in a hospi- 38 tal, or unable to appear personally at the polling place on such day 39 because of illness or physical disability or (b) because his OR HER 40 duties, occupation, business, or studies will require him OR HER to be 41 outside of the county or city of his residence on such day, (c) because 42 he OR SHE will be on vacation outside the county or city of his OR HER 43 residence on such day; or, (d) absent from his OR HER voting residence 44 because he OR SHE is detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or 45 awaiting trial or is confined in prison after conviction for an offense 46 other than a felony. Such application must be received by the district 47 clerk or designee of the trustees or school board at least seven days 48 before the election if the ballot is to be mailed to the voter, or the 49 day before the election, if the ballot is to be delivered personally to 50 the voter. 51 S 15. Paragraph b of subdivision 6 of section 2018-b of the education 52 law, as amended by chapter 46 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as 53 follows: 54 b. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the following 55 statement: 56 STATEMENT OF ABSENTEE VOTER S. 1364 8 1 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN 2 LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES, and will 3 be at least eighteen years of age on the date of the school district 4 election; that I will have been a resident of this state and of the 5 school district and school election district, if any, shown on the 6 reverse side of this envelope for thirty days next preceding the said 7 election and that I am or on such date will be, a qualified voter of 8 said school district; that I will be unable to appear personally on the 9 day of said school district election at the polling place of the said 10 district in which I am or will be a qualified voter because of the 11 reason stated on my application heretofore submitted; that I have not 12 qualified, or do I intend to vote, elsewhere than as set forth on the 13 reverse side of this envelope; that I have not received or offered, do 14 not expect to receive, have not paid, offered or promised to pay, 15 contributed, offered or promised to contribute to another to be paid or 16 used, any money or other valuable thing, as a compensation or reward for 17 the giving or withholding of a vote at this school district election, 18 and have not made any promise to influence the giving or withholding of 19 any such votes; that I have not made or become directly or indirectly 20 interested in any bet or wager depending upon the result of this school 21 district election; and that I have not been convicted of bribery [of] OR 22 any infamous crime, or, if so convicted, that I have been pardoned or 23 restored to all the rights of a citizen, without restriction as to the 24 right of suffrage, or have received a certificate of good conduct grant- 25 ed by the board of parole pursuant to the provisions of the executive 26 law removing my disability to vote. 27 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of 28 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material 29 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be 30 guilty of a misdemeanor. 31 Date............................. Signature of Voter 32 S 16. Subdivision 1 of section 2603 of the education law, as amended 33 by chapter 182 of the laws of 1952, is amended to read as follows: 34 1. A citizen of the United States OR AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR 35 PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES. 36 S 17. Subdivision 5 of section 2609 of the education law, as amended 37 by chapter 919 of the laws of 1974, is amended to read as follows: 38 5. Any qualified voter of a city school district may challenge the 39 right of a person to vote at the time when he OR SHE requests a ballot. 40 All persons named upon the applicable register as having been challenged 41 prior to the day of the election shall also be challenged before they 42 are given ballots to vote. The chairman of the board of inspectors 43 shall administer to each person so challenged the following oath: "I do 44 solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States OR 45 AN ALIEN LAWFULLY ADMITTED FOR PERMANENT RESIDENCE IN THE UNITED STATES; 46 that I am of the age of eighteen years or more; that I have been an 47 inhabitant of the State for the past year, a resident of the county for 48 the past four months and for the thirty days past an actual resident of 49 this city school district and am therefore qualified to vote at this 50 election." If the person challenged so swears or affirms, he OR SHE 51 shall be permitted to vote at such election; but if he OR SHE shall 52 refuse to so swear or affirm, he OR SHE shall not be given a ballot or 53 be permitted to vote. S. 1364 9 1 S 18. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 2 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.