Authorizes any registered voter to vote by absentee ballot; establishes a voter's right to cast a final vote on election day to nullify an earlier or absentee vote.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
8479
IN SENATE
May 8, 2018
___________
Introduced by Sen. BOYLE -- 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 authorizing any regis-
tered voter to vote by absentee ballot and in relation to establishing
a right to a final vote
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
29 district of his or her residence.] Any person who is registered to vote
30 and deemed a qualified voter may vote by absentee ballot.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11999-04-8
S. 8479 2
1 2. A qualified voter desiring to vote at such election as an absentee
2 voter [for any reason specified in subdivision one hereof] must make
3 application for an absentee ballot on a form to be obtained and filed as
4 provided herein or by letter as provided in paragraph (d) of this subdi-
5 vision.
6 (a) Application forms shall be furnished by and may be obtained from
7 any board of elections at any time until the day before such election.
8 Application forms shall also be supplied by the board of inspectors of
9 the election district in which applicant is a qualified voter on all of
10 the days provided for local registration. In addition, application forms
11 shall be supplied upon the request of the person authorized to vote
12 pursuant to this section, any such person's spouse, parent or child, a
13 person residing with the applicant as a member of his household, or the
14 applicant's duly authorized agent. Application forms sent outside of the
15 United States to a country other than Canada or Mexico, shall be sent
16 airmail. Any reference to "board of elections" in the remaining
17 provisions of this section, except with respect to the furnishing and
18 obtaining of applications for absentee ballots, means only the board of
19 elections of the county or city in which the applicant is a qualified
20 voter.
21 (b) Applications may be filed either with the board of elections or in
22 person with the board of inspectors of the election district in which
23 the applicant is a qualified voter, on one of the days provided for
24 local registration.
25 (c) All applications must be mailed to the board of elections not
26 later than the seventh day before the election for which a ballot is
27 first requested or delivered to such board not later than the day
28 [before] of such election.
29 (d) The board of elections shall mail an absentee ballot to every
30 qualified voter otherwise eligible for such a ballot, who requests such
31 an absentee ballot from such board of elections in writing in a letter,
32 telefax indicating the address, phone number and the telefax number from
33 which the writing is sent or other written instrument, which is signed
34 by the voter and received by the board of elections not earlier than the
35 thirtieth day nor later than the seventh day before the election for
36 which the ballot is first requested and which states the address where
37 the voter is registered and the address to which the ballot is to be
38 mailed; provided, however, a military voter may request a military
39 ballot or voter registration application or an absentee ballot applica-
40 tion in a letter as provided in subdivision three of section 10-106 of
41 this chapter; and provided further, a special federal voter may request
42 a special federal ballot or voter registration application or an absen-
43 tee ballot application in a letter as provided in paragraph d of subdi-
44 vision one of section 11-202 of this chapter. The board of elections
45 shall enclose with such ballot a form of application for absentee ballot
46 if the applicant is registered with such board of elections.
47 3. The application for an absentee ballot when filed must contain in
48 each instance the following information:
49 (a) Applicant's full name, date of birth, and residence address,
50 including the street and number, if any, rural delivery route, if any,
51 mailing address if different from the residence address and his or her
52 town or city and an address to which the ballot shall be mailed.
53 (b) A statement that the applicant is a qualified and registered
54 voter.
S. 8479 3
1 (c) [A statement, as appropriate, that on the day of such election the
2 applicant expects in good faith to be in one of the following catego-
3 ries:
4 (i) absent from the county of his or her residence, or if a resident
5 of the city of New York absent from said city; provided, however, if the
6 applicant expects to be absent from such county or city for a duration
7 covering more than one election and seeks an absentee ballot for each
8 election, he or she shall state the dates when he or she expects to
9 begin and end such absence; or
10 (ii) unable to appear at a polling place because of illness or phys-
11 ical disability or duties related to the primary care of one or more
12 individuals who are ill or physically disabled; or
13 (iii) a resident or patient of a veterans health administration hospi-
14 tal; or
15 (iv) detained in jail awaiting action by a grand jury or awaiting
16 trial or confined in jail or prison after a conviction for an offense
17 other than a felony and stating the place where he or she is so detained
18 or confined.
19 (d)] Such application shall permit the applicant to apply for an
20 absentee ballot for either a primary election or the general election in
21 any year [and for those persons who will be continuously absent from
22 their county of residence during the period between the fall primary
23 election and the general election in any year to apply for ballots for
24 both such elections in such year]. A voter who applies for an absentee
25 ballot shall be sent an absentee ballot for any special election or
26 winter primary that occurs during the period [of absence] specified in
27 the application.
28 [4. A voter who claims permanent illness or physical disability may
29 make application for an absentee ballot and the right to receive an
30 absentee ballot for each election thereafter as provided herein without
31 further application, by filing with the board of elections an applica-
32 tion which shall contain a statement to be executed by the voter. Upon
33 filing of such application the board of elections shall cause the regis-
34 tration records of the voter to be marked "Permanently Disabled" and
35 thereafter shall send an absentee ballot for each succeeding primary,
36 special or general election to such voter at his or her last known
37 address by first class mail with a request to the postal authorities not
38 to forward such ballot but to return it in five days in the event that
39 it cannot be delivered to the addressee. The mailing of such ballot for
40 each election shall continue until such voter's registration is
41 cancelled.]
42 § 2. Article 8 of the election law is amended by adding a new title 6
43 to read as follows:
44 TITLE VI
45 RIGHT TO A FINAL VOTE
46 Section 8-600. Right to a final vote.
47 § 8-600. Right to a final vote. Before his or her vote is counted in
48 an election any voter who has voted by absentee ballot or other early
49 voting procedure shall have the right to cast a ballot on election day
50 that would negate such earlier vote.
51 § 3. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
52 manner as a "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing
53 an amendment to section 2 of article 2 of the constitution, in relation
54 to absentee voting" takes effect, in accordance with section 1 of arti-
55 cle 19 of the constitution.
