Bill Text: NY S08195 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Enacts the Disaster Voting Relief Act; provides for temporary voting procedures in a state of emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-12 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S08195 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S08195-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8195

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 12, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Elections

        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to enacting the  "disaster
          voting relief act of 2024"

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

     1    Section 1.  Short title.  This act shall be known and may be cited  as
     2  the "disaster voting relief act of 2024".
     3    § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 3-109 to read
     4  as follows:
     5    § 3-109. Disaster; governor may suspend or delay voting. 1. The gover-
     6  nor  may, upon issuance of an executive order declaring a state of emer-
     7  gency or upon the issuance of a federal disaster declaration suspend  or
     8  delay an election in such municipality.
     9    2. If a delay or suspension is authorized by the governor, the delayed
    10  voting shall resume or be rescheduled as soon as practicable pursuant to
    11  the  procedures outlined in section 3-108 of this title. The state board
    12  of elections shall promulgate such  rules  and  regulations  to  further
    13  effectuate the provisions of this section.
    14    § 3. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-416 to read
    15  as follows:
    16    §  8-416.  Persons  entitled  to  vote  absentee  when an emergency is
    17  declared. Upon issuance of an executive order declaring a state of emer-
    18  gency or upon the issuance of  a  federal  disaster  declaration  within
    19  fourteen  days of an election any qualified voter whose polling location
    20  is within the area affected by such declaration may vote as an  absentee
    21  voter notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter.
    22    §  4.  Section  8-302  of  the election law is amended by adding a new
    23  subdivision 6 to read as follows:
    24    6. Upon the governor's issuance of  an  executive  order  declaring  a
    25  state of emergency pursuant to section twenty-eight of the executive law
    26  or  upon  the issuance of a federal disaster declaration a voter seeking
    27  to vote by affidavit need not affirm that such voter is duly  registered
    28  in  the election district in which such voter seeks to cast an affidavit

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04337-02-4
        S. 8195                             2

     1  ballot if such voter is registered to vote within the county  for  which
     2  such declaration has been issued.
     3    §  5.  The  opening paragraph of section 9-209 of the election law, as
     4  separately amended by chapters 479 and 481  of  the  laws  of  2023,  is
     5  amended to read as follows:
     6    Before  completing  the canvass of votes cast in any primary, general,
     7  special, or other election at which voters are required  to  sign  their
     8  registration  poll  records  before voting, the board of elections shall
     9  proceed in the manner hereinafter prescribed to review, cast and canvass
    10  early mail, any absentee, military, special presidential, special feder-
    11  al or other special ballots and any ballots cast in affidavit envelopes,
    12  including ballots cast by voters pursuant to section 8-604 of this chap-
    13  ter. Each such  ballot  shall  be  retained  in  the  original  envelope
    14  containing the voter's affidavit and signature, in which it is delivered
    15  to  the  board  of elections until such time as it is to be reviewed, in
    16  order to be cast and canvassed. Absentee ballots cast by voters pursuant
    17  to section 8-416 of this chapter shall  be  transmitted  by  the  county
    18  board  of elections where such ballot was cast to the board of elections
    19  where such voter is registered to vote to be canvassed with other  affi-
    20  davit  and  absentee ballots for the election district wherein the voter
    21  resides.
    22    § 6. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    23  it shall have become a law.  Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
    24  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    25  tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be  made  and
    26  completed on or before such effective date.