New York State Assembly

 
•  Summary 
 
•  Actions 
 
•  Floor Votes 
 
•  Memo 
 
•  Text 

S03553 Summary:

S03553 Actions:

S03553 Floor Votes:

S03553 Text:

 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                         3553--A
            Cal. No. 323
 
                               2013-2014 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 5, 2013
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sens.  CARLUCCI, AVELLA, DILAN, PERKINS, SAMPSON -- read
          twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
          Committee on Elections -- recommitted to the Committee on Elections in
          accordance  with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- reported favorably from said

          committee, ordered to first and second  report,  ordered  to  a  third
          reading,  amended  and  ordered  reprinted, retaining its place in 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

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04494-02-4
        S. 3553--A                          2

     1    iv.  his  duties,  occupation or business require him to be so absent,
     2  provided, however, such absence is not caused by the fact that his regu-
     3  lar and daily place of business is located outside of said county.
     4    (b)  Absent  from the county in which his residence is located because
     5  he is on vacation outside said county.
     6    (c) He is the spouse, parent or child of,  and  resides  in  the  same
     7  household with, a person qualified under any of the foregoing paragraphs
     8  of  this  subdivision and will also be absent from said county by reason

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

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

    32  following language printed in bold face type above the signature line:
    33          "I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS CERTIFICATE WILL BE ACCEPTED FOR
    34          ALL PURPOSES AS THE EQUIVALENT OF AN AFFIDAVIT  AND,  IF
    35          IT CONTAINS A MATERIAL FALSE STATEMENT, SHALL SUBJECT ME
    36          TO THE SAME PENALTIES AS IF I HAD BEEN DULY SWORN."
    37    4.  The  application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in
    38  each instance the following information:
    39    (a) Applicant's full name,  date  of  birth,  and  residence  address,
    40  including  the  street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any,
    41  mailing address if different from the residence address and his  or  her
    42  village and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
    43    (b)  A  statement  that  the  applicant  is a qualified and registered

    44  voter.
    45    (c) A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election  the
    46  applicant  expects  in  good faith to be in one of the following catego-
    47  ries:
    48    (i) absent from the county of his or her residence; provided, however,
    49  if the applicant expects to be absent from such county  for  a  duration
    50  covering  more  than  one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each
    51  election, he or she shall state the dates when  he  or  she  expects  to
    52  begin and end such absence; or
    53    (ii)  unable  to appear at a polling place because of illness or phys-
    54  ical disability or duties related to the primary care  of  one  or  more
    55  individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or

    56    (iii) an inmate or patient of a veteran's administration hospital; or
        S. 3553--A                          3
 
     1    (iv)  detained  in  jail  awaiting  action by a grand jury or awaiting
     2  trial or confined in jail or prison after a conviction  for  an  offense
     3  other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
     4  or confined.
     5    (d) Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an absen-
     6  tee  ballot for either a primary election or the general election in any
     7  year and for those persons who will be continuously  absent  from  their
     8  county  of residence during the period between the fall primary election
     9  and the general election in any year to apply for ballots for both  such

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

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

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

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

    54    [7] 8.  The method of marking, preparing and mailing such  ballot  for
    55  voting  shall  conform,  wherever  practicable,  to the methods used for
    56  absentee ballots for a general election, except  that  the  envelope  in
        S. 3553--A                          4
 
     1  which it is contained shall be returned to the village clerk. On the day
     2  of the election, the village clerk shall deliver all such ballots, which
     3  have  been  returned to him or her, in the sealed envelopes to the board
     4  of  inspectors  of  election  of the proper election district.   No such
     5  ballot shall be deemed to have been voted unless or until it shall  have
     6  been  delivered  to  the board of inspectors of election of the election
     7  district in which the elector casting the ballot resides and shall  have

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

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