Prohibits ballot harvesting; prohibits a person from submitting an application for an absentee ballot on behalf of a voter without notarized consent; permits family members, caregivers and other officials to submit applications.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A1966
SPONSOR: Goodell TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting ballot
harvesting
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
This bill would add a new section '8-414 of the election law to prohibit
ballot harvesting. Pursuant to this section, ballot harvesting would
include:
*The making or submission of an application for an absentee ballot on
behalf of another voter; and/or
*The collection, distribution, or submission to a board of elections of
voted or unvoted ballots. This new section 8-414 would further provide
that:
*A person may submit an application for an absentee ballot on behalf of
another voter, if the voter has signed the absentee ballot application,
and if:
-The person submitting such application for an absentee ballot on behalf
of the other voter, is a family member of the other voter, within three
degrees of consanguinity; or
*A voter has executed a signed, written, notarized consent, not more
than 30 days prior to the date of the application, authorizing the
person submitting the application to do so on the voter's behalf, and
such person submitting the application on such other voter's behalf also
files such signed, written, notarized consent with the local board of
elections at the time of submitting such application, and such person
submitting the application has not submitted any other application on
behalf of any other voter.
*A person may collect, distribute or submit to a board of elections, a
voted or unvoted absentee ballot, if such person collecting, distribut-
ing or submitting such ballot is:
-A family member of the voter, to whom the absentee ballot belongs,
within three degrees of consanguinity; or
-A caregiver of the voter, to whom the absentee ballot belongs, if such
voter has filed with the board of elections, assigned, written, nota-
rized statement executed by the voter, that such person so collecting,
distributing and/or submitting the ballot on the voter's behalf, is in
fact a caregiver of the voter, with permission to collect, distribute
and/or submit such voter's absentee ballot; or
-An election official employed by the board of elections, who at the
time of the collection, distribution or submission of such absentee
ballot, was exclusively engaged in and performing their official duties;
or
-A United States -postal service employee, who at the time of the
collection, distribution or submission of such absentee ballot, was
exclusively engaged in and performing their official duties; or
- A delivery courier hired by the voter whose ballot is being collected,
distributed or submitted, who at the time of the collection, distrib-
ution or submission of such absentee ballot, was exclusively engaged in
and performing their official duties. Lastly, this bill would add a new
section 17-172 of the election law, to provide that any person who will-
fully engages in unlawful ballot harvesting would be guilty of a class D
felony, and that any person who engages in unlawful ballot harvesting
would be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
JUSTIFICATION:
Ballot Harvesting, which is the collection, distribution, and submission
of absentee and/or mail in ballots, on behalf of other voters, seriously
compromises ballot integrity, and seriously undermines peoples' faith in
our electoral process.
Such activities are the political weaponization of the electoral proc-
ess, and are not about encouraging voters to vote, but rather are an
issue of controlling voters and manipulating elections, where votes are
gathered, harvested, controlled and manipulated to control, direct and
determine, the outcome of elections.
From North Carolina, to California, and even here in New York, we have
seen voter harvesting' gain an increasing foothold. Wherever this
unseemly practice has been allowed to occur, it has compromised the
control and integrity of the physical ballot of voters and has exponen-
tially increased the ability to conduct voter fraud. Under this scheme,
nefarious parties can fill out ballots they control, coerce, or forge
signatures, and actually act to cast the ballot in one specific direc-
tion.
These disgraceful actions bypass the proven structure of privacy and
ballot integrity, that traditional absentee ballot procedures, and in
person polling sites, under the bi-partisan supervision of election
officials, have provided successfully for generations. Moreover, this
disdainful practice has been found by U.S. Election Assistance Commis-
sion surveys, to have led to millions of mailed ballots being misdi-
rected or disappearing in prior elections.
The people of New York deserve ballot integrity, and to have faith in
their elections. They know that an election without ballot integrity is
not an election, but a coup.
After numerous reports and investigations regarding voter harvesting in
California, North Carolina, Arizona and Texas, in 2018, the Arizona and
Texas legislatures each specifically enacted a ballot harvesting ban.
Such a ban is especially important in rural areas, which are especially
vulnerable to vote fraud and manipulation, as local elections often turn
on just a handful of votes. That is why this bill, which seeks to deter
the disgraced practices of vote fraud, manipulation and ballot harvest-
ing, by making its willful act, a class D felony, is so important.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.10631 2020 - Held for consideration in Election Law
A.4929 2022 - Held for consideration in Election Law
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None noted.
EFFECTIVE DATE: :
Nov 1st after it shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1966
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 23, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GOODELL -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to prohibiting ballot
harvesting
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The election law is amended by adding a new section 8-416
2 to read as follows:
3 § 8-416. Ballot harvesting prohibited. 1. It shall be an unlawful
4 practice for any person to engage in ballot harvesting. For purposes of
5 this section, ballot harvesting shall include:
6 (a) the making or submission of an application for an absentee ballot,
7 pursuant to section 8-400 of this article, on behalf of another voter,
8 unless done in accordance with subdivision two of this section; and
9 (b) the collection, distribution or submission to a board of
10 elections, of voted or unvoted absentee ballots, unless done in accord-
11 ance with subdivision three of this section.
12 2. A person may submit an application for an absentee ballot on behalf
13 of another voter, if the voter has signed the absentee ballot applica-
14 tion, and if:
15 (a) the person submitting such application for an absentee ballot on
16 behalf of the other voter, is a family member of the other voter, within
17 three degrees of consanguinity; or
18 (b) a voter has executed a signed, written, notarized consent, not
19 more than thirty days prior to the date of the application, authorizing
20 the person submitting the application for an absentee ballot to do so on
21 the voter's behalf, and such person submitting the application for an
22 absentee ballot on such other voter's behalf also files such signed,
23 written, notarized consent with the local board of elections at the time
24 of submitting such application for the absentee ballot, and such person
25 submitting the application for an absentee ballot on the other voter's
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03784-01-3
A. 1966 2
1 behalf has not submitted any other absentee ballot application on behalf
2 of any other voter under this subdivision.
3 3. A person may collect, distribute or submit to a board of elections,
4 a voted or unvoted absentee ballot, if such person collecting, distrib-
5 uting or submitting such ballot is:
6 (a) a family member of the voter, to whom the absentee ballot belongs,
7 within three degrees of consanguinity; or
8 (b) a caregiver of the voter, to whom the absentee ballot belongs, if
9 such voter has filed with the board of elections, a signed, written,
10 notarized statement executed by the voter, that such person so collect-
11 ing, distributing and/or submitting the ballot on the voter's behalf, is
12 in fact a caregiver of the voter, with permission to collect, distribute
13 and/or submit such voter's absentee ballot; or
14 (c) an election official employed by the board of elections, who at
15 the time of the collection, distribution or submission of such absentee
16 ballot, was exclusively engaged in and performing their official duties;
17 or
18 (d) a United States postal service employee, who at the time of the
19 collection, distribution or submission of such absentee ballot, was
20 exclusively engaged in and performing their official duties; or
21 (e) a delivery courier hired by the voter whose ballot is being
22 collected, distributed or submitted, who at the time of the collection,
23 distribution or submission of such absentee ballot, was exclusively
24 engaged in and performing their official duties.
25 § 2. The election law is amended by adding a new section 17-172 to
26 read as follows:
27 § 17-172. Ballot harvesting. 1. Any person who willfully engages in
28 unlawful ballot harvesting, pursuant to section 8-416 of this chapter,
29 shall be guilty of a class D felony.
30 2. Any person who engages in unlawful ballot harvesting, pursuant to
31 section 8-416 of this chapter, shall be guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
32 § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of November next succeed-
33 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
