Bill Text: NY S09270 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the term paper ballot; provides that voters will be informed that if they have moved from the address where they were last registered, they must either notify the board of elections of their new address or vote by affidavit ballot at the polling place for their new address even if such voters have not re-registered.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-05-08 - REFERRED TO ELECTIONS [S09270 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09270-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9270

                    IN SENATE

                                       May 8, 2024
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  KAVANAGH  --  (at  request  of  the State Board of
          Elections) -- 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 the term paper ballot

          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 4-117  of  the  election  law,  as
     2  amended by chapter 481 of the laws of 2023, is amended as follows:
     3    1.  The board of elections, between the third Tuesday in April and the
     4  second Friday in May in each year,  shall  send  by  mail  on  which  is
     5  endorsed  such  language  designated  by the state board of elections to
     6  ensure postal authorities do not forward such mail but return it to  the
     7  board of elections with forwarding information, when it cannot be deliv-
     8  ered  as  addressed  and  which  contains  a  request that any such mail
     9  received for persons not residing at the address be dropped back in  the
    10  mail,  a  communication,  in  a  form  approved  by  the  state board of
    11  elections, to every registered voter who has been registered  without  a
    12  change  of  address  since  the  beginning of such year, except that the
    13  board of elections shall not be required to send such communications  to
    14  voters  in  inactive status. The communication shall notify the voter in
    15  bold print contained in such notice of the days and hours of the ensuing
    16  primary and general elections, the place where [he or  she]  such  voter
    17  appears by [his or her] such voter's registration records to be entitled
    18  to  vote,  and  also in other than bold type of the fact that voters who
    19  have moved or will have moved from the  address  where  they  were  last
    20  registered  must  either  notify  the board of elections of [his or her]
    21  such voter's new address or vote by  [paper]  affidavit  ballot  at  the
    22  polling  place  for  [his  or her] such voter's new address even if such
    23  voter  has  not  re-registered,  or  otherwise  notified  the  board  of
    24  elections  of  the change of address. If the primary will not be held on
    25  the first Tuesday after the second Monday  in  September,  the  communi-
    26  cation  shall  contain  a  conspicuous notice in all capital letters and
    27  bold font notifying the voter of the primary date. If  the  location  of
    28  the  polling place for the voter's election district has been moved, the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15511-01-4
        S. 9270                             2

     1  communication shall contain the following legend  in  bold  type:  "YOUR
     2  POLLING PLACE HAS BEEN CHANGED. YOU NOW VOTE AT..........". The communi-
     3  cation  shall  indicate that any registered voter may vote early by mail
     4  by  applying for an early mail ballot, and provide information on how to
     5  apply for an early mail ballot. The communication  shall  also  indicate
     6  whether  the  polling place is accessible to physically disabled voters,
     7  that a voter who will be out of the city or county on  the  day  of  the
     8  primary or general election or a voter who is ill or physically disabled
     9  may  obtain  an  absentee ballot, that a physically disabled voter whose
    10  polling place is not accessible may  request  that  [his]  such  voter's
    11  registration record be moved to an election district which has a polling
    12  place  which is accessible, the phone number to call for applications to
    13  move a registration record or for early mail or absentee ballot applica-
    14  tions, the phone number to call for the  location  of  registration  and
    15  polling  places,  the phone number to call to indicate that the voter is
    16  willing to serve on election day as an election inspector,  poll  clerk,
    17  interpreter  or  in other capacities, the phone number to call to obtain
    18  an application for registration by  mail,  and  such  other  information
    19  concerning  the  elections  or registration as the board may include. In
    20  lieu of sending such communication to every registered voter, the  board
    21  of  elections  may send a single communication to a household containing
    22  more than one registered voter, provided that  the  names  of  all  such
    23  voters appear as part of the address on such communication.
    24    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.