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A07769 Summary:

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A07769 Floor Votes:

A07769 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          7769
 
                               2011-2012 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                      May 16, 2011
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Election Law
 
        AN  ACT to amend the election law, in relation to eliminating the refer-
          ence to "inmate" when referring to  residents  of  veteran's  adminis-
          tration hospitals for purposes of absentee voting
 

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 5 and 8 of section 5-215  of  the  election
     2  law,  subdivision 1 as amended by chapter 90 of the laws of 1991, subdi-
     3  vision 8 as added by chapter 347 of the laws of 1982, and  such  section
     4  as renumbered by chapter 659 of the laws of 1994, are amended to read as
     5  follows:
     6    1.  The board of elections in the county in which a veterans' hospital
     7  is located shall appoint a board of registration which shall attend each
     8  veterans' hospital between the hours of nine o'clock in the morning  and
     9  five  o'clock in the evening on the seventh Thursday before each general
    10  election and, in the event that it be necessary for  the  completion  of
    11  its  duties,  on  the seventh Friday before such election except that if

    12  any of the religious holidays of  Yom  Kippur,  Rosh  Hashanah,  Simchas
    13  Torah,  Shmini  Atzereth or Succoth shall fall on such days, such regis-
    14  tration shall be held on the next regular business day  which  does  not
    15  fall on any of such religious holidays, and shall receive from [inmates]
    16  residents  or  patients therein, or their spouses, parents and children,
    17  the applications of such of them as  desire  and  are  qualified  to  be
    18  registered by absentee registration.
    19    5.  If  a Veterans' Administration Hospital in which any veteran enti-
    20  tled to vote in this state is [an inmate]  a  resident  or  patient,  is
    21  located  outside  the  State of New York, an application for an absentee
    22  ballot signed by such veteran or his or  her  spouse,  parent  or  child

    23  accompanying  or being with him or her, if a qualified voter and a resi-
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11060-02-1
        A. 7769                             2
 
     1  dent of the same election district, shall constitute permanent  personal
     2  registration.
     3    8.  The  board  of  elections shall not be required to send a board of
     4  central registration to each veterans' hospital in such county, pursuant
     5  to the provisions of this section, if, in lieu thereof, it shall provide
     6  such hospital with mail registration  application  forms  in  sufficient
     7  quantity  so that each [inmate] resident or patient of such hospital who

     8  wishes to register will  be  able  to  do  so.  A  complete  application
     9  received  from [an inmate] a resident or patient whose residence is in a
    10  county other than the county in which the hospital is located  shall  be
    11  immediately transmitted to the appropriate board of elections.
    12    §  2.  Paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 of section 8-400 of the election
    13  law, as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
    14  follows:
    15    (c) [an inmate] a resident or patient of  a  veteran's  administration
    16  hospital; or
    17    §  3.  Subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (c) of subdivision 3 of section
    18  8-400 of the election law, as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of 2010,
    19  is amended to read as follows:
    20    (iii) [an inmate] a resident or patient of a veteran's  administration
    21  hospital; or

    22    §  4.  Subdivision 1 of section 8-404 of the election law, the opening
    23  paragraph as amended by chapter 359 of the laws of 1989,  paragraph  (b)
    24  as  amended  by  chapter  373 of the laws of 1978, is amended to read as
    25  follows:
    26    1. After entering upon the registration records, the  application  for
    27  registration  of [an inmate] a resident or patient of a veterans' admin-
    28  istration hospital as to whom the medical superintendent or medical head
    29  of such hospital has attested that he or she expects that he or she will
    30  not be discharged prior to the day following the next general or special
    31  village, primary, special, general or New  York  city  community  school
    32  board  district  or  city  of  Buffalo school district election, and the
    33  application for registration by the spouse,  parent  or  child  of  such

    34  [inmate]  resident or patient, accompanying or being with him or her, if
    35  a qualified voter and a resident of  the  same  election  district,  the
    36  board  of  elections,  without further investigation and without further
    37  application by the applicant, shall send to him or her at such  hospital
    38  an  absentee ballot and shall record in the signature column on the back
    39  of his or her permanent personal  registration  poll  record  that  such
    40  ballot has been sent.
    41    (a)  Any  voter  who is duly registered and whose registration records
    42  are marked "Hospitalized Veteran" or "Hospitalized  Veteran's  Relative"
    43  need  not thereafter make application for an absentee ballot. Sixty days
    44  before each election, the board of elections shall compile  and  send  a

    45  list  to  each  veterans' administration hospital of all [inmates] resi-
    46  dents and patients of veterans' administration hospitals who  appear  by
    47  the  records  of  such  board  to be "hospitalized veterans" entitled to
    48  receive  absentee  ballots  at  each  such  hospital  pursuant  to   the
    49  provisions of this section. Each veterans' administration hospital shall
    50  no later than fifteen days following the receipt of such list, return it
    51  with  notations  made  thereon  showing whether the [inmate] resident or
    52  patient continues to be confined therein or has been  discharged  there-
    53  from.  Upon the receipt of such returned list from each veterans' admin-
    54  istration hospital with the proper notations showing that  a  "hospital-
    55  ized  veteran"  continues  to be confined in such hospital, the board of

    56  elections, by mail addressed to such "hospitalized veteran"  at  his  or
        A. 7769                             3
 
     1  her last known hospital address and by mail addressed to such "hospital-
     2  ized  veteran's relative" at his or her last known address shall send an
     3  absentee ballot for the ensuing election to such "hospitalized  veteran"
     4  and  such  "hospitalized  veteran's  relative" an absentee ballot in the
     5  same manner as provided [herein] in this section for a  qualified  voter
     6  entitled  to  an  absentee  ballot  because of permanent disability. The
     7  board shall record on the back of his or her registration poll record in
     8  the space reserved for his or her signature at such election,  the  fact
     9  that such ballot has been sent.

    10    (b)  If  the  returned  list  from a veterans' administration hospital
    11  contains a notation showing that a "hospitalized veteran" is  no  longer
    12  [an inmate] a resident or patient at the veterans' administration hospi-
    13  tal where he or she is recorded as staying, or if such letter containing
    14  an  absentee voter's ballot for a "hospitalized veteran" or a "hospital-
    15  ized veterans' relative" is returned by the post office  as  undelivera-
    16  ble,  the  board  of elections shall ascertain whether the "hospitalized
    17  veteran" or "hospitalized veteran's relative" is residing at the address
    18  given on his or  her  registration  records  as  his  or  her  permanent
    19  address. If he or she is residing there, the board shall not send him or

    20  her  any  further  absentee ballots unless he or she applies therefor in
    21  the regular way. If he or she is not residing at the place of  residence
    22  given  on  his or her registration records but the board ascertains that
    23  he or she has  been  transferred  to  another  veterans'  administration
    24  hospital,  the board shall cause a central board of registration to make
    25  the necessary changes of temporary address on his  or  her  registration
    26  records  and  shall  continue sending him or her absentee ballots at the
    27  veterans' administration hospital where he or she is staying. If  he  or
    28  she is not residing at the place of residence given on his or her regis-
    29  tration  records  and the board cannot ascertain that he or she has been

    30  transferred to another  veterans'  administration  hospital,  the  board
    31  shall  cancel  his  or  her  registration.    Whenever a registration is
    32  cancelled pursuant [hereto] to this paragraph notice shall be mailed  to
    33  the  veteran  or  his  or her relative at his or her permanent residence
    34  address and last temporary address.
    35    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.