STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10200
IN ASSEMBLY
March 22, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to authorizing any regis-
tered voter to vote by absentee ballot
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 1, 2, 3 and 4 of section 8-400 of the election
2 law, subdivisions 1, 3 and 4 as amended by chapter 63 of the laws of
3 2010, paragraph (c) of subdivision 1 and subparagraph (iii) of paragraph
4 (c) of subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 375 of the laws of 2015, the
5 opening paragraph of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 216 of the laws
6 of 1988, paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 263 of the
7 laws of 1991, paragraph (c) of subdivision 2 as amended by chapter 321
8 of the laws of 1988, and paragraph (d) of subdivision 2 as separately
9 amended by chapters 97 and 104 of the laws of 2010, are amended to read
10 as follows:
11 1. [A qualified voter may vote as an absentee voter under this chapter
12 if, on the occurrence of any village election conducted by the board of
13 elections, primary election, special election, general election or New
14 York city community school board district or city of Buffalo school
15 district election, he or she expects to be:
16 (a) absent from the county of his or her residence, or, if a resident
17 of the city of New York absent from said city; or
18 (b) unable to appear personally at the polling place of the election
19 district in which he or she is a qualified voter because of illness or
20 physical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
21 individuals who are ill or physically disabled, or because he or she
22 will be or is a patient in a hospital; or
23 (c) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
24 tal; or
25 (d) absent from his or her voting residence because he or she is
26 detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting trial, or
27 confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense other than
28 a felony, provided that he or she is qualified to vote in the election
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14993-01-8
A. 10200 2
1 district of his or her residence.] (a) Any person who is registered to
2 vote may vote by absentee ballot.
3 (b) A registered voter may not vote in person if the voter filed an
4 application to vote by absentee ballot.
5 2. A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an absentee
6 voter for any reason specified in subdivision one hereof must make
7 application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
8 provided herein or by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdi-
9 vision.
10 (a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be obtained from
11 any board of elections at any time until the day before such election.
12 Application forms shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of
13 the election district in which applicant is a qualified voter on all of
14 the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms
15 shall be supplied upon the request of the person authorized to vote
16 pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or child, a
17 person residing with the applicant as a member of his household, or the
18 applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the
19 United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent
20 airmail. Any reference to "board of elections" in the remaining
21 provisions of this section, except with respect to the furnishing and
22 obtaining of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board of
23 elections of the county or city in which the applicant is a qualified
24 voter.
25 (b) Applications may be filed either with the board of elections or in
26 person with the board of inspectors of the election district in which
27 the applicant is a qualified voter, on one of the days provided for
28 local registration.
29 (c) All applications must be mailed to the board of elections not
30 later than the seventh day before the election for which a ballot is
31 first requested or delivered to such board not later than the day
32 [before] of such election.
33 (d) The board of elections shall mail an absentee ballot to every
34 qualified voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
35 an absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a letter,
36 telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from
37 which the writing is sent or other written instrument, which is signed
38 by the voter and received by the board of elections not earlier than the
39 thirtieth day nor later than the seventh day before the election for
40 which the ballot is first requested and which states the address where
41 the voter is registered and the address to which the ballot is to be
42 mailed; provided, however, a military voter may request a military
43 ballot or voter registration application or an absentee ballot applica-
44 tion in a letter as provided in subdivision three of section 10-106 of
45 this chapter; and provided further, a special federal voter may request
46 a special federal ballot or voter registration application or an absen-
47 tee ballot application in a letter as provided in paragraph d of subdi-
48 vision one of section 11-202 of this chapter. The board of elections
49 shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for absentee ballot
50 if the applicant is registered with such board of elections.
51 3. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in
52 each instance the following information:
53 (a) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address,
54 including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any,
55 mailing address if different from the residence address and his or her
56 town or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
A. 10200 3
1 (b) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered
2 voter.
3 (c) [A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the
4 applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following catego-
5 ries:
6 (i) absent from the county of his or her residence, or if a resident
7 of the city of New York absent from said city; provided, however, if the
8 applicant expects to be absent from such county or city for a duration
9 covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each
10 election, he or she shall state the dates when he or she expects to
11 begin and end such absence; or
12 (ii) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or phys-
13 ical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
14 individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or
15 (iii) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
16 tal; or
17 (iv) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting
18 trial or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense
19 other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
20 or confined.
21 (d)] Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an
22 absentee ballot for either a primary election or the general election in
23 any year and for those persons who will be continuously absent from
24 their county of residence during the period between the fall primary
25 election and the general election in any year to apply for ballots for
26 both such elections in such year. A voter who applies for an absentee
27 ballot shall be sent an absentee ballot for any special election or
28 winter primary that occurs during the period of absence specified in the
29 application.
30 4. [A voter who claims permanent illness or physical disability] Any
31 voter may make application for an absentee ballot and the right to
32 receive an absentee ballot for each election thereafter as provided
33 herein without further application[, by filing with the board of
34 elections an application which shall contain a statement to be executed
35 by the voter]. Upon filing of such application the board of elections
36 shall cause the registration records of the voter to be marked ["Perma-
37 nently Disabled"] "permanent absentee" and thereafter shall send an
38 absentee ballot for each succeeding primary, special or general election
39 to such voter at his or her last known address by first class mail with
40 a request to the postal authorities not to forward such ballot but to
41 return it in five days in the event that it cannot be delivered to the
42 addressee. The mailing of such ballot for each election shall continue
43 until such voter's registration is cancelled.
44 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
