STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5183
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JACOBSON, EACHUS -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Election Law
AN ACT relating to the establishment of voting by mail in the case of a
natural disaster or state of emergency
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The state board of elections shall, by September 1, 2025 or
2 30 days after this act shall have become a law, whichever comes first,
3 create a plan that provides for the establishment and use of voting by
4 mail for elections in the case of a natural disaster or state of emer-
5 gency. Such plan shall otherwise comply with all provisions of the
6 election law. For purposes of this section, "voting by mail" shall mean
7 an election for which all eligible voters receive ballots by mail and
8 vote by mailing those ballots, depositing the ballots at, as applicable,
9 drop-off locations or voter service and polling centers, or, as applica-
10 ble, by voting at a voter service and polling center.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02367-01-5
