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A07602 Summary:

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A07602 Floor Votes:

A07602 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         7602--A
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 10, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. MILLMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Election Law -- committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
        AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to the retention of absen-
          tee ballots and the canvass of military and absentee ballots
 

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 8-412  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  amended  by  chapter  155  of  the  laws  of 1994, is amended to read as
     3  follows:
     4    2. Absentee ballots received by the board  of  elections  [before  the
     5  close  of  the polls on election day from voters whose applications were
     6  received by such board at least seven  days  before  election  day  may]
     7  shall  be  [delivered  to  the  inspectors  of  election  in  the manner
     8  prescribed by this chapter or] retained at the board  of  elections  and
     9  cast  and  canvassed pursuant to the provisions of section 9-209 of this
    10  chapter [as such board shall, in its discretion, determine by resolution

    11  adopted at least thirty days before election day. All  ballots  received
    12  by  the  board of elections from voters whose applications were received
    13  by such board later than seven days before  election  day,  all  ballots
    14  received  by  such  board between election day and the seventh day after
    15  election day, and all federal write-in ballots  received  from  absentee
    16  voters,  shall  be retained at the board and shall be cast and canvassed
    17  in the same manner as other ballots retained by such board].
    18    § 2. Paragraphs (a) and (c) of subdivision 2 of section 9-209  of  the
    19  election law, as amended by chapter 104 of the laws of 2010 and subpara-
    20  graph  (i)  of  paragraph  (a)  as amended by chapter 163 of the laws of
    21  2010, are amended to read as follows:

    22    (a) (i) Upon assembling at the time and place fixed for such  meeting,
    23  each  central  board  of inspectors shall examine, cast, and canvass the
    24  envelopes and the ballots therein contained as nearly as practicable  in
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11540-02-1
        A. 7602--A                          2
 
     1  the following manner [provided by this chapter for a board of inspectors
     2  to consider, cast, and canvass absentee ballot envelopes.]:
     3    (A)  If  a  person whose name is on an envelope as a voter has already

     4  voted in person at such election, or if his or her name and residence as
     5  stated on the envelope are not on a registration  poll  record,  or  the
     6  computer  generated  list  of  registered  voters or the list of special
     7  presidential voters, or if there is no name on the envelope, or  if  the
     8  envelope is not sealed, such envelope shall be laid aside unopened.
     9    (B)  If  there  is  more than one ballot envelope executed by the same
    10  voter, the one bearing the later date of execution shall be accepted and
    11  the other rejected. If it cannot be determined which envelope bears  the
    12  later date, then all such envelopes shall be rejected.
    13    (C)  If  such  person  is  found to be registered and has not voted in

    14  person, an inspector shall compare the signature, if any, on each envel-
    15  ope with the signature, if any, on the  registration  poll  record,  the
    16  computer  generated  list  of  registered  voters or the list of special
    17  presidential voters, of the person of the same name who registered  from
    18  the  same  address.  If  the  signatures  are  found to correspond, such
    19  inspector shall certify thereto by signing his or her  initials  in  the
    20  "Inspector's Initials" line on the computer generated list of registered
    21  voters or in the "remarks" column as appropriate.
    22    (D)  If  such  person  is  found to be registered and has not voted in
    23  person, and if no challenge is made, or  if  a  challenge  made  is  not

    24  sustained, the envelope shall be opened, the ballot or ballots withdrawn
    25  without  unfolding,  and  the  ballot or ballots deposited in the proper
    26  ballot box or boxes, or envelopes, provided however that, in the case of
    27  a primary election, the ballot shall be deposited in the box only if the
    28  ballot is of the party with which the voter is enrolled according to the
    29  entry on the back of his or her registration poll record or next to  his
    30  or  her  name  on  the computer generated registration list; if not, the
    31  ballot shall be rejected without inspection or unfolding  and  shall  be
    32  returned  to the envelope which shall be endorsed "not enrolled." At the
    33  time of the deposit of such ballot or ballots in the box  or  envelopes,

    34  the  inspectors shall enter the words "absentee vote" or "military vote"
    35  in the space reserved for the voter's signature on the aforesaid list or
    36  in the "remarks" column as appropriate, and shall  enter  the  year  and
    37  month of the election on the same line in the spaces provided therefor.
    38    (E)  As each envelope is opened, if one or more of the different kinds
    39  of ballots to be voted at  the  election  are  not  found  therein,  the
    40  clerks,  or  inspectors,  shall make a memorandum showing what ballot or
    41  ballots are missing. If a ballot envelope shall contain  more  than  one
    42  ballot  for  the same offices, all the ballots in such envelope shall be
    43  rejected. When the casting of such ballots shall have been completed the

    44  clerks or inspectors shall ascertain the number of such ballots of  each
    45  kind  which  have been deposited in the ballot box by deducting from the
    46  number of envelopes opened the number of missing ballots, and shall make
    47  a return thereof. The number of absentee voters'  ballots  deposited  in
    48  the  ballot  box shall be added to the number of other ballots deposited
    49  in the ballot box, in order to determine the number of  all  ballots  of
    50  each kind to be accounted for in the ballot box.
    51    (ii)  If the board of inspectors determines that a person was entitled
    52  to vote at such election it shall cast and canvass such ballot  if  such
    53  board  finds  that ministerial error by the board of elections or any of
    54  its employees caused such ballot envelope not to be valid on its face.

    55    (iii) If the board of elections determines that a person was  entitled
    56  to  vote  at such election, the board shall cast and canvass such ballot
        A. 7602--A                          3
 
     1  if such board finds that the  voter  appeared  at  the  correct  polling
     2  place,  regardless  of  the fact that the voter may have appeared in the
     3  incorrect election district.
     4    (c)  The following provisions shall apply to casting and canvassing of
     5  all such ballots which are counted by machine and all  other  provisions
     6  of  this  chapter  with  respect  to casting and canvassing such ballots
     7  which are not inconsistent with this paragraph shall  be  applicable  to
     8  such ballots.
     9    (i)  [Such  ballots  shall  be  counted  by  placing them, arranged by
    10  election district, in the counting machine.

    11    (ii)] Such ballots may be separated into sections before being  placed
    12  in the counting machine.
    13    [(iii)]  (ii)  Any  write-in  ballots  and any ballots which cannot be
    14  counted by the machine shall be counted  manually  subject  to  all  the
    15  applicable  provisions  of  this  chapter  with  respect  to counting of
    16  ballots.
    17    [(iv)] (iii) The record of the vote counted by machine for each candi-
    18  date and for and against  each  ballot  proposal,  printed  by  election
    19  district,  shall be preserved in the same manner and for the same period
    20  as the returns of canvass for the election.
    21    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.