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A05065 Summary:

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A05065 Floor Votes:

A05065 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         5065--A
                                                                Cal. No. 225
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    February 20, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  M. of A. GALEF, PAULIN -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
          BROOK-KRASNY, CLARK, CROUCH -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Election Law -- ordered to a third reading --  passed  by  Assembly
          and  delivered to the Senate, recalled from the Senate, vote reconsid-

          ered, bill amended, ordered reprinted,  retaining  its  place  on  the
          order of third reading
 
        AN  ACT  to  amend  the  election law, in relation to absentee voting at
          village elections
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Section 15-120 of the election law, paragraph (b) of subdi-
     2  vision  1  and  subdivision  8  as amended by chapter 373 of the laws of
     3  1978, subdivision 2 as amended by chapter  279  of  the  laws  of  1983,
     4  subdivision  3  as  amended by chapter 333 of the laws of 1983, subdivi-
     5  sions 4 and 5 as amended by chapter 84 of the laws of 1986 and  subdivi-
     6  sion 6 as amended by chapter 216 of the laws of 1982, is amended to read
     7  as follows:
     8    §  15-120. Absentee voting at village elections. 1. A qualified [elec-

     9  tor] voter of a village may vote as an absentee voter under this section
    10  if during all the hours of voting on the day of  a  general  or  special
    11  village election he or she will be:
    12    [(a)  Unavoidably  absent  from  the  county in which his residence is
    13  located because:
    14    i. he is a member of the armed forces of the United States of America;
    15  or
    16    ii. he is a student matriculated at an institution of learning located
    17  outside such county; or
    18    iii. he is a patient at a veterans administration hospital; or
    19    iv. his duties, occupation or business require him to  be  so  absent,
    20  provided, however, such absence is not caused by the fact that his regu-

    21  lar and daily place of business is located outside of said county.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04494-03-4
        A. 5065--A                          2

     1    (b)  Absent  from the county in which his residence is located because
     2  he is on vacation outside said county.
     3    (c)  He  is  the  spouse,  parent or child of, and resides in the same
     4  household with, a person qualified under any of the foregoing paragraphs
     5  of this subdivision and will also be absent from said county  by  reason
     6  of accompanying the person so qualified.]

     7    (a) absent from the county of his or her residence; or
     8    (b)  unable to appear at the polling place because of illness or phys-
     9  ical disability, or duties related to the primary care of  one  or  more
    10  individuals  who  are  ill  or physically disabled, or because he or she
    11  will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
    12    (c) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
    13    (d) absent from his or her voting  residence  because  he  or  she  is
    14  detained  in  jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
    15  confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other  than
    16  a  felony,  provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
    17  district of his or her residence.

    18    2. Each person entitled to vote as an absentee voter pursuant to  this
    19  section  and desirous of obtaining an absentee ballot shall make written
    20  application therefor to the village clerk.  Application  forms  for  use
    21  pursuant  to  this  section  shall  be in a form prescribed by the state
    22  board of elections. The use of  any  application  which  is  on  a  form
    23  prescribed by the state board of elections shall be acceptable.
    24    3.  An application for an absentee ballot must be signed by the appli-
    25  cant.  Such application may require that the applicant submit a  certif-
    26  icate  in  lieu  of any affidavit which shall state that the information
    27  contained in the application is true. Such certificate shall be accepted
    28  for all purposes as the equivalent of an affidavit and  shall  have  the
    29  following language printed in bold face type above the signature line:

    30          "I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CERTIFICATE WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR
    31          ALL  PURPOSES  AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT AND, IF
    32          IT CONTAINS A MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME
    33          TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I HAD BEEN DULY SWORN."
    34    4. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must  contain  in
    35  each instance the following information:
    36    (a)  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 his or her
    39  village and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
    40    (b) A statement that the  applicant  is  a  qualified  and  registered
    41  voter.

    42    (c)  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    (i) 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    (ii) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness  or  phys-
    51  ical  disability  or  duties  related to the primary care of one or more
    52  individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or

    53    (iii) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
    54    (iv) detained in jail awaiting action by  a  grand  jury  or  awaiting
    55  trial  or  confined  in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense
        A. 5065--A                          3
 
     1  other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
     2  or confined.
     3    (d) Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an absen-
     4  tee  ballot for either a primary election or the general election in any
     5  year and for those persons who will be continuously  absent  from  their
     6  county  of residence during the period between the fall primary election
     7  and the general election in any year to apply for ballots for both  such

     8  elections in such year. A voter who applies for an absentee ballot shall
     9  be  sent  an  absentee ballot for any special election or winter primary
    10  that occurs during the period of absence specified in the application.
    11    5. An application must be received by the  village  clerk  no  earlier
    12  than  four  months  before  the election for which an absentee ballot is
    13  sought. If the application requests that the absentee ballot be  mailed,
    14  such  application  must be received not later than seven days before the
    15  election. If the applicant or his or her agent delivers the  application
    16  to  the  village  clerk in person, such application must be received not
    17  later than the day before the election. The village clerk shall  examine
    18  each  application  and  shall  determine  from the information contained

    19  therein whether the applicant is qualified under this section to receive
    20  an absentee ballot. The clerk in making such decision shall  not  deter-
    21  mine  whether  the  applicant is a qualified elector, said determination
    22  being reserved to the inspectors of election as is hereinafter  provided
    23  in subdivision [eight] nine of this section.
    24    [5] 6.  No later than six days before the election for which an appli-
    25  cation  has been received and for which the village clerk has determined
    26  the applicant to be qualified to vote by  absentee  ballot  the  village
    27  clerk  shall mail, by regular mail, an absentee ballot to each qualified
    28  applicant who has applied before such day and  who  has  requested  that
    29  such absentee ballot be mailed to him or her at the address set forth in

    30  his  or  her  application. If the applicant or his or her agent delivers
    31  the application to the village clerk in person  after  the  seventh  day
    32  before  the  village  election  and  not  later  than the day before the
    33  election, the  village  clerk  shall  forthwith  deliver  such  absentee
    34  ballots  for those applicants whom he or she determines are qualified to
    35  make such applications and to receive such ballots to such applicants or
    36  the agents named in the applications  when  such  applicants  or  agents
    37  appear in the village clerk's office.
    38    [6] 7.  The absentee ballot shall be caused to be prepared and printed
    39  by  the  village  clerk  as provided by law for paper ballots or machine
    40  ballots, whichever are to be  used  in  said  election  and  appropriate

    41  modifications  for  the  purposes  of this section. He or she shall also
    42  cause to be prepared and printed return envelopes addressed  to  him  or
    43  her,  conforming  so far as may be practicable to the provisions of this
    44  chapter stating thereon that in order for the ballot  contained  therein
    45  to  be  counted  it must be received by the village clerk not later than
    46  the close of the polls on election day. On  the  reverse  side  of  each
    47  return  envelope  there  shall  be written instructions for the voter to
    48  insert at designated places his or her signature, his or her name print-
    49  ed, his or her residence address within  the  village  and  his  or  her
    50  village  election district if there be more than one district within the
    51  village.

    52    [7] 8.  The method of marking, preparing and mailing such  ballot  for
    53  voting  shall  conform,  wherever  practicable,  to the methods used for
    54  absentee ballots for a general election, except  that  the  envelope  in
    55  which it is contained shall be returned to the village clerk. On the day
    56  of the election, the village clerk shall deliver all such ballots, which
        A. 5065--A                          4
 
     1  have  been  returned to him or her, in the sealed envelopes to the board
     2  of inspectors of election of the proper  election  district.    No  such
     3  ballot  shall be deemed to have been voted unless or until it shall have
     4  been  delivered  to  the board of inspectors of election of the election
     5  district in which the elector casting the ballot resides and shall  have

     6  been  deposited  by  the  chairman of such board in the box provided for
     7  receiving such ballot.
     8    [8] 9.  When such ballots shall have been delivered to  the  board  of
     9  inspectors  of  election  of the proper election district and shall have
    10  been duly determined by such board to have been lawfully cast by a qual-
    11  ified elector of such district, the chairman of such board shall,  after
    12  the  close of the polls, open the envelopes containing such ballots and,
    13  without unfolding such ballots or permitting  the  face  thereof  to  be
    14  exposed  to  the view of anyone, shall deposit each such ballot in a box
    15  specifically furnished for such purpose by the  village  clerk.  If  the
    16  board  of  inspectors shall determine that any such ballot has been cast
    17  by an elector who would not be qualified under the  provisions  of  this

    18  section, then such ballot shall not be counted.
    19    [9]  10.    After  all  the ballots shall have been deposited, the box
    20  shall be opened and such ballots canvassed in the same manner  as  other
    21  ballots  cast  at such election and shall be counted and included in the
    22  total of all ballots cast at such election.
    23    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.