Bill Text: NY S08197 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Permits all qualified voters to vote as absentee voters during a state disaster emergency; provides for the automatic mailing of absentee ballots to all qualified voters during a state disaster emergency.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 21-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-04-13 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S08197 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S08197-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8197

                    IN SENATE

                                     April 13, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens. KENNEDY, ADDABBO, BENJAMIN, BRESLIN, BROOKS, HOYL-
          MAN, JACKSON, KAPLAN, KRUEGER, LIU, MAYER, MONTGOMERY, PARKER,  SERRA-
          NO,  SKOUFIS -- 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 permitting  all  quali-
          fied  voters  to vote as absentee voters during a state disaster emer-
          gency and providing for the  automatic  mailing  of  absentee  ballots
          during a state disaster emergency

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

     1    Section 1. Section 8-400 of the election law is amended  by  adding  a
     2  new subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
     3    1-a. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, a qualified
     4  voter  may  vote  as an absentee voter under this chapter if any village
     5  election conducted by the board of elections, primary election,  special
     6  election,  general  election  or  New  York  city community school board
     7  district or city of Buffalo school district  election  occurs  during  a
     8  state  disaster emergency, as defined in section twenty of the executive
     9  law.
    10    § 2. Section 8-406 of the election law, as amended by chapter  296  of
    11  the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
    12    §  8-406.  Absentee  ballots,  delivery of. 1. If the board shall find
    13  that the applicant  is  a  qualified  voter  of  the  election  district
    14  containing  his residence as stated in his statement and that his state-
    15  ment is sufficient, it shall, as soon as practicable after it shall have
    16  determined his right thereto, mail to him at an  address  designated  by
    17  him,  or deliver to him, or to any person designated for such purpose in
    18  writing by him, at the office of the board,  such  an  absentee  voter's
    19  ballot  or  set  of  ballots  and an envelope therefor. If the ballot or
    20  ballots are to be sent outside of the United States to a  country  other
    21  than Canada or Mexico, such ballot or ballots shall be sent by air mail.
    22  However,  if  an  applicant  who is eligible for an absentee ballot is a
    23  resident of a facility operated or licensed by, or under  the  jurisdic-
    24  tion  of,  the department of mental hygiene, or a resident of a facility

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16159-01-0
        S. 8197                             2

     1  defined as a nursing home or residential health care  facility  pursuant
     2  to  subdivisions two and three of section two thousand eight hundred one
     3  of the public health law, or a resident of a hospital or other  facility
     4  operated  by  the  Veteran's  Administration  of the United States, such
     5  absentee ballot need not be so mailed or delivered to any such applicant
     6  but, may be delivered to the voter in the manner prescribed  by  section
     7  8-407  of this [chapter] title if such facility is located in the county
     8  or city in which such voter is eligible to vote.
     9    2. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, during  a
    10  state  disaster emergency, as defined in section twenty of the executive
    11  law, the board of elections for all counties or  cities  shall  mail  an
    12  absentee ballot to every registered and qualified voter residing in such
    13  county or city. Such absentee ballot shall be mailed to every registered
    14  and  qualified  voter  at  the  address given on his or her registration
    15  records, or at an address specified by such voter pursuant to  paragraph
    16  (c)  of this subdivision, no later than thirty days before the scheduled
    17  election is to be held.
    18    (b) In the case of a primary election, the board  shall  deliver  only
    19  the  ballot  of the party in which the records of the board of elections
    20  show the absentee voter to be enrolled. In the event a primary  election
    21  is  uncontested in the absentee voters election district for all offices
    22  or positions except the party position of member of the ward, town, city
    23  or county committee, no ballot shall be delivered to such absentee voter
    24  for such election; and the absentee voter shall be advised why he or she
    25  is not being sent a ballot.
    26    (c) Any voter, upon  application,  may  request  that  their  absentee
    27  ballot  be  mailed  to  them  at  an  address other than their permanent
    28  address, if he or she expects to be absent from the county  or  city  of
    29  residence and unable to obtain their absentee ballot.
    30    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.