STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6719
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 11, 2025
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SIMONE, BENEDETTO -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to authorizing electronic
absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot submissions
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 of section 8-400 of the
2 election law, as amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2023, is amended
3 to read as follows:
4 (c) All applications requesting an absentee ballot be delivered to the
5 voter or an agent by mail or through the electronic absentee ballot
6 application transmittal system must be received by the board of
7 elections not later than the tenth day before the election for which a
8 ballot is first requested. Applications for an absentee ballot that will
9 be delivered in person at the board of elections to the voter or to an
10 agent of the voter must be received by such board not later than the day
11 before such election. In addition to postal or personal delivery of the
12 application to the board of elections, the board of elections shall
13 accept delivery of absentee ballot applications from persons residing in
14 a country other than the United States while maintaining eligibility to
15 vote in elections in New York: (i) by telephone facsimile transmission
16 to a phone number which shall be designated by the board of elections;
17 (ii) as an attachment to an electronic mail transmission sent to an
18 electronic mail address which shall be designated by the board of
19 elections; and (iii) through an online electronic absentee ballot appli-
20 cation filing system which shall be established by the state board of
21 elections and which shall transmit each application to the appropriate
22 board of elections for processing. The website for each board of
23 elections shall advertise the electronic mail address and telephone
24 facsimile number required by this section and shall provide a link to
25 the online electronic filing system established pursuant to this
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06295-01-5
A. 6719 2
1 section. An application delivered to the board of elections by electron-
2 ic means shall be an original application without necessity for a subse-
3 quent conforming paper submission and shall be deemed filed when
4 received by the board of elections, except if received by electronic
5 means after business hours or extended hours as designated by this chap-
6 ter, such application shall be deemed received as of the next day on
7 which the board is open to receive absentee ballot applications. Noth-
8 ing in this section shall be construed to prevent the application of the
9 electronic signature provisions of the state technology law with respect
10 to applications for an absentee ballot.
11 § 2. Section 8-410 of the election law, as amended by chapter 500 of
12 the laws of 2024, is amended to read as follows:
13 § 8-410. Absentee voting; method of. 1. Marking of the ballot. The
14 absentee voter shall mark an absentee ballot as provided for paper
15 ballots or ballots prepared for counting by ballot counting machines.
16 [He or she] Such voter shall make no mark or writing whatsoever upon the
17 ballot, except as above prescribed, and shall see that it bears no such
18 mark or writing. [He or she] Such voter shall make no mark or writing
19 whatsoever on the outside of the ballot. In cases where the express
20 intent of the voter is unambiguous, any stray marks or writing shall not
21 be a basis for voiding a ballot.
22 2. Submission of the ballot; by mail. After marking the ballot or
23 ballots [he or she] such voter shall fold each such ballot and enclose
24 them in the envelope and seal the envelope. [He or she] Such voter shall
25 then take and subscribe the oath on the envelope, with blanks properly
26 filled in. The envelope, containing the ballot or ballots, shall then be
27 mailed or delivered to the board of elections of the county or city of
28 [his or her] their residence or deposited in an absentee ballot drop box
29 established by the board of elections of the county or city of the
30 voter's residence.
31 3. Submission of the ballot; by electronic mail. Such voter shall then
32 take and subscribe the oath in the electronic mail, with blanks properly
33 filled in. Such voter shall then return the ballot or ballots via elec-
34 tronic mail to the state board of elections using the electronic absen-
35 tee ballot transmittal system.
36 § 3. Section 11-203 of the election law, as added by chapter 104 of
37 the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
38 § 11-203. Special federal voters; designation of means of transmission
39 by special federal voters. [1.] A special federal voter may designate a
40 preference to receive a voter registration application, a special feder-
41 al ballot application or a special federal ballot by mail, facsimile
42 transmission or electronic mail. Such designation shall remain in effect
43 until revoked or changed by the special federal voter. If a special
44 federal voter does not designate a preference, the board of elections
45 shall transmit the voter registration application, special federal
46 ballot application or special federal ballot by mail. If a special
47 federal voter designates a preference for facsimile transmission or
48 electronic mail but does not provide the necessary facsimile number or
49 e-mail address, the board of elections shall transmit the voter regis-
50 tration application, special federal ballot application or special
51 federal ballot by mail and request the omitted information. All communi-
52 cations to the special federal voter shall include the mailing address
53 of the board of elections.
54 [2. Irrespective of the preferred method of transmission designated by
55 a special federal voter, a special federal voter's original completed
56 voter registration application, special federal ballot application and
A. 6719 3
1 special federal ballot must be returned by mail or in person notwith-
2 standing that a prior copy was sent to the board of elections by facsim-
3 ile transmission or electronic mail.]
4 § 4. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
5 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
