Provides that casting and canvassing of absentee, military, special presidential, special federal and other special ballots shall occur as such ballots are received by the board of elections.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10940
IN ASSEMBLY
August 17, 2020
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Carroll) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Election Law
AN ACT to amend the election law, in relation to casting and canvassing
of absentee, military, special presidential, special federal and other
special ballots
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 9-209 of the election law, as
2 amended by chapter 104 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 1. (a) The board of elections shall designate itself or such of its
5 employees as it shall deem appropriate as a set of poll clerks to cast
6 and canvass such ballots, and [fix a time and place for their meeting
7 for such purpose, provided that such meeting shall be no more than four-
8 teen days after a general or special election and no more than eight
9 days after a primary election at which such ballots are voted] establish
10 a procedure which provides for the casting and canvassing of such
11 ballots as such ballots are received by the board. The board may desig-
12 nate additional sets of poll clerks and if it designates more than one
13 such set shall apportion among all such sets the election districts from
14 which such ballots have been received, provided that all such ballots
15 from a single election district shall be assigned to a single set of
16 clerks, and that each such set shall be divided equally between repre-
17 sentatives of the two major political parties. Each such set of clerks
18 shall be deemed a central board of inspectors for purposes of this
19 section.
20 (b) At least five days prior to the [time fixed for such meeting]
21 earliest day a board could receive such ballots, the board shall send
22 notice by first class mail to each candidate, political party, and inde-
23 pendent body entitled to have had watchers present at the polls in any
24 election district in the board's jurisdiction. Such notice shall state
25 the [time and place fixed] procedure established by the board for such
26 canvass.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD17112-01-0
A. 10940 2
1 (c) Each such candidate, political party, and independent body shall
2 be entitled to appoint such number of watchers to attend upon each
3 central board of inspectors as such candidate, political party, or inde-
4 pendent body was entitled to appoint at such election in any one
5 election district for which such central board of inspectors is desig-
6 nated to act.
7 § 2. The opening paragraph of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of
8 subdivision 2 of section 9-209 of the election law, as amended by chap-
9 ter 308 of the laws of 2011, is amended and a new clause (F) is added to
10 read as follows:
11 Upon assembling at the time and place [fixed for such meeting] set in
12 the procedure established pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one
13 of this section, each central board of inspectors shall examine, cast,
14 and canvass the envelopes and the ballots therein contained as nearly as
15 practicable in the following manner:
16 (F) Where an envelope or ballot is laid aside, rejected or successful-
17 ly challenged prior to the date of such election and the board deter-
18 mines that the person who submitted such envelope or ballot was entitled
19 to vote at such election, the board of elections shall notify such
20 person and provide the opportunity to correct any defect with such
21 envelope or ballot, as applicable.
22 § 3. Section 8-302 of the election law is amended by adding a new
23 subdivision 2-b to read as follows:
24 2-b. If a voter's name appears in the ledger or computer generated
25 registration list with a notation indicating that the voter has already
26 voted by absentee, military, special presidential, special federal or
27 other special ballot, such voter shall only be entitled to vote by affi-
28 davit ballot.
29 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to
30 elections held on or after such date.