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A05031 Summary:

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A05031 Committee Votes:

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A05031 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5031
 
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 10, 2015
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  GALEF, PAULIN, ORTIZ, SCHIMMINGER, JAFFEE --
          Multi-Sponsored by -- M.   of A.  CAHILL,  COLTON,  DINOWITZ,  DUPREY,
          FARRELL,  FINCH, GIGLIO, GOTTFRIED, GUNTHER, LIFTON, MAGEE, McDONOUGH,
          McKEVITT, RIVERA, ROBINSON, THIELE -- read once and  referred  to  the
          Committee on Education
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  education  law, in relation to applications for
          absentee ballots for school district elections
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section  1. Paragraphs b, c, d, e, f and g of subdivision 2 of section
     2  2018-a of the education law, paragraph b as amended by  chapter  136  of
     3  the  laws  of  1991, paragraph c as amended by chapter 26 of the laws of
     4  1994, paragraph d as amended by chapter 72 of the laws  of  1988,  para-
     5  graphs e and f as added by chapter 219 of the laws of 1978 and paragraph
     6  g  as  amended by chapter 825 of the laws of 1984, are amended and a new
     7  paragraph h is added to read as follows:
     8    b. [(1) Where such duties, occupation, business,  or  studies  are  of
     9  such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence, a brief description
    10  of  such  duties, occupation, business, or studies shall be set forth in
    11  such application.  (2)  Where  such  duties,  occupation,  business,  or
    12  studies  are not of such a nature as ordinarily to require such absence,
    13  such application shall contain a statement of the special  circumstances
    14  on account of which such absence is required.
    15    c.  Where  the applicant expects in good faith to be absent on the day
    16  of the election because he will be on vacation elsewhere  on  such  day,
    17  such  application  shall also contain the dates upon which he expects to
    18  begin and end such vacation, the place or places where he expects to  be
    19  on  such  vacation, the name and address of his employer, if any, and if
    20  self-employed or retired, a statement to that effect.
    21    d. Where the absence is because of detention or confinement  to  jail,
    22  such  application  shall  state  whether  the voter is detained awaiting
    23  action of the grand jury or is confined after conviction for an  offense
    24  other than a felony.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00136-01-5
        A. 5031                             2

     1    e.  Where a person is or would be, if he were a qualified voter, enti-
     2  tled  to  apply  for  the  right  to  vote  by absentee ballot under the
     3  provisions of this section, his spouse, parent or child, if a  qualified
     4  voter  and  a resident of the same school district, shall be entitled to
     5  vote as an absentee voter upon personally making and signing an applica-
     6  tion in accordance with the preceding provisions of this subdivision and
     7  showing that he expects to be absent from the school district on the day
     8  of  the school district election by reason of accompanying or being with
     9  the spouse, child or parent who is or would be, if he were  a  qualified
    10  voter,  so  entitled  to apply for the right to vote by absentee ballot,
    11  and, in the event no application  is  made  by  such  spouse,  child  or
    12  parent,  such  further  information  as  the board of registration shall
    13  require.
    14    f] A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this  section
    15  if  during  all  the hours of voting on the day of an election he or she
    16  will be:
    17    (1) absent from the county of his or her residence; or
    18    (2) unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or  phys-
    19  ical  disability,  or  duties related to the primary care of one or more
    20  individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or  because  he  or  she
    21  will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
    22    (3) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
    23    (4)  absent  from  his  or  her  voting residence because he or she is
    24  detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting  trial,  or
    25  confined  in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than
    26  a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in  the  election
    27  district of his or her residence.
    28    c.  Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to this
    29  section and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make  written
    30  application  therefor  to  the district clerk. Application forms for use
    31  pursuant to this section shall be in a  form  prescribed  by  the  state
    32  board  of  elections.  The  use  of  any  application which is on a form
    33  prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable.
    34    d. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must  contain  in
    35  each instance the following information:
    36    (1)  Applicant's  full  name,  date  of  birth, and residence address,
    37  including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route,  if  any,
    38  mailing  address  if different from the residence address and an address
    39  to which the ballot shall be mailed.
    40    (2) A statement that the  applicant  is  a  qualified  and  registered
    41  voter.
    42    (3)  A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the
    43  applicant expects in good faith to be in one of  the  following  catego-
    44  ries:
    45    (a) absent from the county of his or her residence; provided, however,
    46  if  the  applicant  expects to be absent from such county for a duration
    47  covering more than one election and seeks an absentee  ballot  for  each
    48  election,  he  or  she  shall  state the dates when he or she expects to
    49  begin and end such absence; or
    50    (b) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or physical
    51  disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more individ-
    52  uals who are ill or physically disabled; or
    53    (c) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
    54    (d) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial
    55  or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for  an  offense  other
        A. 5031                             3
 
     1  than  a  felony  and stating the place where he or she is so detained or
     2  confined.
     3    e.    Such  application  shall  include  the following statement to be
     4  signed by the voter.
     5    I hereby declare that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of
     6  my knowledge and belief, and I understand that if I  make  any  material
     7  false  statement  in the foregoing statement of application for absentee
     8  ballots, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
 
     9    Date.....................Signature of Voter ..........................
 
    10    [g] f.  An applicant whose ability to appear personally at the polling
    11  place of the school district of which he or she is a qualified voter  is
    12  substantially  impaired by reason of permanent illness or physical disa-
    13  bility and whose registration record has been marked "permanently  disa-
    14  bled"  by  the  board  of  elections  pursuant  to the provisions of the
    15  election law shall be entitled to receive an absentee ballot pursuant to
    16  the provisions of this section without making separate  application  for
    17  such  absentee  ballot, and the board of registration upon being advised
    18  by the board of elections on or with the list of registered voters  that
    19  the  registration  record  of  a  voter is marked "permanently disabled"
    20  shall send an absentee ballot to such voter at his  last  known  address
    21  with  a  request  to  the  postal authorities not to forward same but to
    22  return same in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the
    23  addressee. The board of education shall determine  whether  such  ballot
    24  shall  be  sent  by  first  class or by certified mail. All such ballots
    25  shall be mailed in the same manner as determined by the board of  educa-
    26  tion.  The  board of registration shall make an appropriate entry on the
    27  registration indicating the fact that an absentee ballot has  been  sent
    28  and the date of mailing.
    29    g.  An  application  must be received by the district clerk no earlier
    30  than the thirtieth day before the election for which an absentee  ballot
    31  is  sought.  If  the  application  requests  that the absentee ballot be
    32  mailed, such application must be received  not  later  than  seven  days
    33  before  the  election. If the applicant or his or her agent delivers the
    34  application to the district clerk in person, such  application  must  be
    35  received  not later than the day before the election. The district clerk
    36  shall examine each application and shall determine from the  information
    37  contained  therein whether the applicant is qualified under this section
    38  to receive an absentee ballot.
    39    h. No later than six days before the election for which an application
    40  has been received and for which the district clerk  has  determined  the
    41  applicant  to be qualified to vote by absentee ballot the district clerk
    42  shall mail, by regular mail, an absentee ballot to each qualified appli-
    43  cant who has applied before such day and who  has  requested  that  such
    44  absentee  ballot be mailed to him or her at the address set forth in his
    45  or her application. If the applicant or his or her  agent  delivers  the
    46  application to the district clerk in person after the seventh day before
    47  the  election  and  not  later  than  the  day  before the election, the
    48  district clerk shall forthwith deliver such absentee ballots  for  those
    49  applicants whom he or she determines are qualified to make such applica-
    50  tions and to receive such ballots to such applicants or the agents named
    51  in  the  applications  when  such  applicants  or  agents  appear in the
    52  district clerk's office.
    53    § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day  after  it  shall
    54  have become a law.