Bill Text: NY S08015 | 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 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 29-0)
Status: (Passed) 2020-08-20 - APPROVAL MEMO.4 [S08015 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08015-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8015--D IN SENATE March 9, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sens. BIAGGI, ADDABBO, BROOKS, CARLUCCI, COMRIE, GAUGHRAN, GIANARIS, GOUNARDES, HARCKHAM, HOYLMAN, JACKSON, KAMINSKY, KAPLAN, KENNEDY, KRUEGER, MAY, MAYER, METZGER, MYRIE, PERSAUD, RAMOS, RIVERA, SAVINO, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, STAVISKY, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- 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; 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 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, but not be limited to, 17 instances where a voter is unable to appear personally at the polling 18 place of the election district in which they are a qualified voter EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD15746-14-0S. 8015--D 2 1 because there is a risk of contracting or spreading a disease that may 2 cause illness to the voter or to other members of the public; or 3 (c) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi- 4 tal; or 5 (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is 6 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or 7 confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than 8 a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election 9 district of his or her residence. 10 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 11 deemed repealed January 1, 2022.
