STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5183
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 19, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sens. JACKSON, BAILEY, FELDER, FERNANDEZ, SEPULVEDA --
read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
the Committee on Elections
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to including a statement
on the envelopes of ballots for absentee voters and special presiden-
tial voters for signature affirmation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 6 of section 7-122 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 6. On the reverse side of such inner affirmation envelope shall be
5 printed the following statement:
6 AFFIRMATION
7 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly
8 registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of this
9 envelope and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I will be
10 unable to appear personally on the day of the election for which this
11 ballot is voted at the polling place of the election district in which I
12 am a qualified voter because of the reason given on my application here-
13 tofore submitted; that I have not qualified nor do I intend to vote
14 elsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I under any imped-
15 iment which denies me the right to vote.
16 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
17 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
18 false statement in the foregoing statement of absentee voter, I shall be
19 guilty of a misdemeanor.
20 Date.................20..... .....................................
21 Signature or mark of voter
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00491-02-5
S. 5183 2
1 .....................................
2 Signature of Witness (required only
3 if voter does not sign [his or her]
4 their own name)
5 .....................................
6 Address of Witness
7 IMPORTANT TO ABSENTEE VOTER: YOU MUST SIGN THE AFFIRMATION ON THIS
8 ENVELOPE.
9 § 2. Subdivision 3 of section 7-125 of the election law, as amended by
10 chapter 411 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows:
11 3. On the reverse side of such envelope shall be printed the follow-
12 ing statement:
13 STATEMENT OF SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTER
14 I do declare I am a qualified special presidential voter of said
15 district; that I am not qualified and am not able to qualify to vote
16 elsewhere than as set forth on the reverse side of this envelope; that I
17 am a citizen of the United States; that on the date of the election for
18 which this ballot is voted, I will be at least eighteen years of age;
19 and that I have not committed any act, nor am I under any impediment,
20 which denies me the right to vote.
21 I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
22 my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I make any material
23 false statement in the foregoing statement, I shall be guilty of a
24 misdemeanor.
25 Date.................20..... .....................................
26 Signature or mark of voter
27 .....................................
28 Signature of Witness (required only
29 if voter does not sign [his or her]
30 their own name)
31 .....................................
32 Address of Witness
33 IMPORTANT TO SPECIAL PRESIDENTIAL VOTER: YOU MUST SIGN THE AFFIRMATION
34 ON THIS ENVELOPE.
35 § 3. This act shall take effect one year after it shall have become a
36 law.
