Provides to any person early voting for a candidate for public office in a general election to take place no sooner than twenty days and no later than five days prior to election day, and for a special election to take place no sooner than eight days and no later than two days prior to election day; and such voting shall take place at such person's county board of elections.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1425
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 2, 2009
___________
Introduced by Sens. DILAN, HASSELL-THOMPSON, HUNTLEY, C. JOHNSON, KLEIN,
KRUEGER, MONTGOMERY, ONORATO, OPPENHEIMER, PARKER, SAMPSON, SAVINO,
SERRANO, STAVISKY -- 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 providing for early
voting
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 8 of the election law is amended by adding a new
2 title 6 to read as follows:
3 TITLE VI
4 EARLY VOTING
5 Section 8-600. Early voting procedures.
6 8-602. Application for early voting.
7 8-604. State board of elections; powers and duties of.
8 § 8-600. Early voting procedures. 1. No sooner than twenty business
9 days and no later than five business days prior to the first Tuesday
10 following the first Monday in November of each election year, as desig-
11 nated election day, a person may, upon completion of a formal written
12 application, vote for a candidate for public office in a general
13 election, and such early voting practice shall take place at such
14 person's county board of elections, or an alternative location as other-
15 wise designated by the state board of elections, or as designated by and
16 through a county board of elections under the powers granted pursuant to
17 this section on or before the effective date of this section. For
18 purposes of a primary election, such early voting shall take place no
19 sooner than twenty business days and no later than five business days
20 prior to such election day. For purposes of a special election, such
21 early voting shall take place no sooner than eight business days and no
22 later than two business days prior to such election day.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD02935-01-9
S. 1425 2
1 2. Each county board of elections shall publish notice of the date,
2 time, and manner of such early voting practice for general, primary and
3 special elections by a newspaper of general circulation thirty days
4 prior to commencement of the first day of such early voting for general
5 or special elections.
6 3. Such voting procedure shall be monitored and administered by two
7 duly designated persons, one from each major political party, and such
8 voting shall follow and conform to all other procedures, measures and
9 requirements of casting a vote by a voting machine as prescribed pursu-
10 ant to this chapter. All votes cast within the early voting period shall
11 be counted on election day with all other votes cast for such candidates
12 and in the same manner as prescribed in article nine of this chapter.
13 § 8-602. Application for early voting. 1. The county board of
14 elections shall furnish one application for early voting to any voter
15 who personally appears and wishes to exercise this right. Upon
16 completion of such application, two duly designated employees of the
17 county board of elections, one from each major political party repres-
18 ented, shall compare the information of the voter with the signature on
19 the voter's permanent registration record, or other evidence of iden-
20 tification if computerized duplicate registration records are used, and
21 shall endorse on the application that such review has been completed.
22 The results or tabulation of votes cast during an early voting period
23 shall not be made before the close of all polling places on election day
24 and results shall be reported by precinct. Ballots used in early voting
25 shall be, as nearly as practicable, the same form as those used on
26 election day.
27 2. The application for early voting shall require and include the
28 following identifying information:
29 (a) the date of the election,
30 (b) name of the county, or name of a city if there be a separate
31 ballot for city voters,
32 (c) the name of the voter,
33 (d) residence of voter,
34 (e) number of the assembly district, if any,
35 (f) name of town, number of ward, if any, and
36 (g) election district and party enrollment. There shall be a place for
37 two signatures of persons designated to inspect, one from each major
38 political party, that such persons have checked and marked the voter's
39 registration and poll record. On the reverse side of such application
40 shall be printed the following statement:
41 I do declare that I am a citizen of the United States, that I am duly
42 registered in the election district shown on the reverse side of this
43 application and I am qualified to vote in such district; that I do not
44 intend to vote elsewhere, that I have not committed any act nor am I
45 under any impediment which denies me the right to vote. I hereby declare
46 that the foregoing is a true statement to the best of my knowledge and
47 belief, and I understand that if I make any material false statement in
48 the foregoing statement, I shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
49 (Date)_________________
50 _______________________
51 (Signature and address of voter)_______________________
52 _______________________________________________________
53 (Witness)______________________
54 _______________________________
55 § 8-604. State board of elections; powers and duties of. Any rule or
56 regulation necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this
S. 1425 3
1 title shall be promulgated by the state board of elections. All
2 completed applications for early voting shall be kept and maintained by
3 the state board of elections.
4 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
5 ing the date on which it shall have become a law.
